So many people suffer from past shame and guilt. God wants us to be free.   Today, Amanda Martel shares her story of being shackled from a childhood and teenage trauma. Her life was riddled with hurt, shame and guilt from her past. But God reached in to rescue her, and now she travels the world in missions, reaching young lives for His glory.

God’s Word consistently reminds us that we are strangers and aliens to this world, but have we done such a good job of assimilating that no one can tell that we don’t belong here?   ****   Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. One of my favorite sitcoms from the 90’s was Third Rock From the Sun.  The premise was that four aliens were given human bodies and instructed to observe life on earth and report back to their home planet everything they learned.  Of course, no one could know their true identity, but it was often difficult to hide.  They knew nothing of gender roles, relationships, how families worked or human emotions.  Trying to fit in and remain undetected was very challenging and always resulted in hilarious situations.  Near the end of the show’s five-year run, they had learned much about human behavior, but they had become so entrenched in their lives on earth, some even falling in love for the first time, they couldn’t bear the thought of returning to their home planet. In addition to providing great entertainment, the show also has a lot of parallels to the spiritual world. Hebrews chapter 11 gives us a list of people who came before us and pleased God because of their faith.  God asked many of them to do hard things that involved risk and blind obedience.  Certainly, that’s what the aliens of 3rd Rock were asked to do.  They were instructed to go to a planet they had no knowledge of and carry out their orders without question.  It was much like Abraham, who was called by God to leave his family and his people and travel to an unknown land where God would give him a whole new life.  Verse nine says, “By faith, he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Issac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrews 11 goes on to mention other heroes of faith like Able, Enoch and Noah.  Verse 13 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.”  Verse 16 explains why they held such attitudes. “They were longing for a better country – a heavenly one.”  We have that same heavenly country to long for and what’s more, we have a better idea of what it will be like than they did.  They had no written word of God to read and study – only the knowledge of God that had been passed from one generation to the next.  We have Old and New Testament prophecies as well as the words of Jesus that describe in some detail what is awaiting us in that “better country.”  And yet, we often live as if we’ve forgotten that it even exists. Our comfortable lifestyles make it particularly easy to forget about that “better country.”  I have to admit that I find life here pretty good.  I have plenty to eat, a home I love, a happy, healthy family, fulfilling work to do and plenty of leisure time as well. I’m most likely to start thinking about and longing for “that better country” when things here start to go wrong.  When I feel the pain of an unstable economy, or I witness injustice, government corruption and rising crime or if someone I love is facing a serious illness…those are the times I long for a kingdom that is not of this world and remember that it’s where I truly belong. It’s easy to fall into the trap of viewing heaven as an escape from the troubles of this world.  But I think we’ve got it backwards when we think that way.  God intended it to be the true home of every human being and our time on earth is designed to make that a reality for everyone who will receive the gift. Our time on earth is meant to be a time of preparation for ourselves and everyone we can possibly influence. Jesus recognized our proclivity to focus on all the wrong things – apparently it wasn’t a problem unique to the time and place we live, because He addressed it with His followers.  Luke 12: 32-34 says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Is Jesus saying we should all sell our homes, cars and   clothing?  He may call some of us to do that, but I believe what He’s really getting at is what we value.  Are we looking to material possessions to make us feel secure and good about ourselves? If so, that’s what we treasure.  And as He pointed out, those things can be stolen from us or destroyed because they only have earthly value.  If we understand that He is our Good Shepherd and that the Father has already given us the kingdom, we have all we need and it has eternal value.  Our security and our contentment should come from that knowledge. The Apostle Paul built on that idea in his letter to Timothy, saying, “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”  What kind of life are we taking hold of?  The life that is of this world is about pleasure, building a name for ourselves, gaining more material comforts, being admired and respected.  According to Paul, and Jesus, that isn’t even truly life, just a sad, worldly copy of the real thing. On the other hand, living the life that is truly life requires sacrifice, being focused on the needs of others and living in a way that may seem foreign to the people around us.  There will be times when, like the aliens of 3rd Rock, we don’t fit in and there’s no hiding it. God may call us to do hard things as He did with Abraham.  We may have to take risks and step into the unknown, but, as Abraham discovered, the blessings outweigh the cost. Sometimes we choose the world’s version of life, not because we’re unwilling or afraid to do the hard things God asks of us, but because we get distracted.  I remember hearing a Haitian pastor speak about what life was like in the community where he pastored. His people were desperately poor, having to subsist on what they could grow in their little gardens or found growing wild…maybe some eggs from a chicken or two.  They had no electricity and very simple homes that barely provided shelter from the sun and rain. Their children didn’t go to college and build better lives with each successive generation.  They faced tremendous opposition from powerful witchdoctors who were used to controlling everything that happened in the village.  But these people loved Jesus, with a love that was pure and unwavering.  They knew that He alone was their provider and protector.  When they gathered for services they had no electricity for air conditioning, a worship team or slick video productions, but they sang together and worshipped with all their hearts.  Before they went to bed, they read scripture and prayed by candlelight, knowing that God would provide for them tomorrow just as He had today.  And they had witnessed miracles!  The witchdoctor had threatened to put a curse on the pastor if he didn’t stop preaching the gospel, assuring him that he would be dead within three days.  In spite of having seen the witchdoctor accomplish things they couldn’t explain, the church prayed for their pastor and stood firmly on God’s word.  Three days later, the witchdoctor was dead, but their pastor was alive and well. As I listened to these stories, I found myself envying them.  They were so focused on the true life that Paul spoke of.  They lived in total dependence on God to provide food, shelter and protection.  Their faith was simple and genuine.  They didn’t waste time on social media, shopping online or watching TV.  Those things weren’t available to them and they were better off for it. Of course, I always have the option of eliminating those things from my life or even using them more wisely. Maybe I could love Jesus simply and whole-heartedly just as they do if I keep my focus where it belongs and live the life that is truly life. I recently learned something new about the Phillipians that Paul wrote to in the New Testament.  The city of Phillipi was unique in that its’ residents were not only citizens of their home city, but of Rome as well.  At that time, Roman citizenship offered protections, rewards and responsibilities.  Rome didn’t want the people of Phillipi to move to Rome.  They were expected to remain in Phillipi, representing the values and culture of Rome while furthering the interests of the Roman Empire.  It’s no coincidence that Paul used the word ”citizenship” to describe how the Christians of Phillipi should live their lives of faith. Phillipians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Philippians would’ve understood that he meant they should participate in daily life where they were living, but be mindful of Who they represent and where they ultimately belong.  And we can do the same.  Rather than bemoaning the fact that God has placed us in this very imperfect world, we should make it our goal to represent Him and the life that is truly life.  And if that causes us to seem a little out of step with what everyone around us is doing, that’s a sign that we’re getting it right.  Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join ,us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.

What’s the sound of Living Out Loud for Jesus? What would life look like for you if you made the decision to allow your life to be a living horn for Jesus? As followers of Jesus, the sound we make as a proclamation of whose we are and who Jesus is, must be louder than the sound we made when we were lost. Let’s Live Out Loud for Jesus! He’s listening!

We've all had many hurtful things happen in our lives that have left deep wounds to the soul. Join Tewannah as she shares how God revealed the roots of her unforgiveness and took her on a journey that enabled her to forgive those who had caused pain in her life. Through that healing, she was able to learn to love unconditionally and have a heart like Jesus.

True holiness is a matter of the heart.  Although we can fool ourselves and others by presenting a squeaky clean image, God calls us to concern ourselves with what’s going on inside, rather than what we look like on the outside.  Enjoy this important teaching from Julie Harwick.   **** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. They say you can’t judge a book by its’ cover. I always thought that it was a pretty valid statement, but the truth of that statement proved itself on a much deeper level when I observed the unmasking of someone I thought I knew very well.   My husband and I had recently re-connected with a friend we hadn’t seen since our wedding.  He was about to get married himself, so we had the opportunity to get to know his new wife from the start of their marriage.  She seemed incredibly sweet and appeared to worship the ground he walked on.  She was open about the fact that her past had included drug addiction and a failed marriage to another addict, but she seemed as far removed from that life as anyone could be.  She brought three daughters to the marriage and though they were older than our kids, the youngest got along really well with our girls.  We vacationed together. They stayed with our kids when we went on a cruise for our 20th anniversary.  They joined our church, and she enthusiastically jumped in and began to develop a women’s ministry.  She had her first child at a very young age and was already a grandmother.  I was so impressed to hear her talk about selecting the perfect bible study that she could do with her grandson when he was in her care.  She seemed like a spiritual giant who was constantly pouring herself into her family, friends and anyone in need.  After many years of such stellar behavior, there were some surprising developments.  She was abruptly asked to step down from her leadership role in women’s ministry.  Initially, that action really disturbed me, but I was about to discover the reason why.  Her husband began to confide in mine that she was not so sweet and supportive of him when no one else was around. Anytime they experienced conflict, she became verbally abusive and unreasonable.  She accused him of being a narcissist, so he volunteered to go to marriage counseling.  The counselor sensed much deeper problems and advised them to both be evaluated for any mental illnesses.  He was given a clean bill of health, while she was diagnosed with multiple illnesses and prescribed numerous medications .  Things improved for a while, but she soon decided that she didn’t need the medications and tried again to convince him that he was the problem.  She had always been generous with family and friends, buying them gifts and helping out with expenses, but soon she began spending unbelievable amounts of money on a daily basis. She ran up large credit card balances and every time he tried to close one out, she simply opened another.  She had no explanation for purchasing a hundred dollars’ worth of Starbucks gift cards day after day. He wanted to fight for their marriage, but she seemed set on destroying him financially and became more and more adversarial toward him with each passing day.  They ended up in divorce court and she took as much as she possibly could from him, leaving him in deep debt.  Although she left the marriage with a settlement that would’ve taken care of her for decades, the money was all gone within two years.  Not long afterward, we discovered that she had been arrested for writing bad checks. As the story unfolded, each revelation of who she really was came like a punch to the gut.  I thought I knew this woman.  I trusted her with my children.  I looked up to her as someone I’d like to emulate.  I thought she was far better to her husband than I was to mine, but the reality was just the opposite.  I had never been so wrong in my evaluation of someone. She played the character she wished to portray better than any award-winning actress and I completely bought into the deception. 1 Samuel 16:7 says “The Lord doesn’t look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  God was speaking to Samuel about who he was to anoint to replace King Saul. Once he arrived in Bethlehem and was directed to Jesse’s family, Samuel was introduced to all but one of Jesse’s sons.  When he laid eyes on Eliab, who was tall, well-built and exuded confidence, he thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But God’s response was clear and direct.  “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.”  Jesse continued to bring his sons one by one before Samuel, but in each case, God rejected them.  After the Lord rejected seven of Jesse’s impressive sons, Samuel asked if there were any more.  As an afterthought, Jesse said there was one more, his youngest, who was tending to the sheep. Much to the surprise and dismay of his seven brothers, when David stood before Samuel, God pronounced, “Rise and anoint him.  This is the one.”  While David was not a perfect king, he ruled Israel well for decades.  He had a close relationship with the Lord and earned the enviable title of “a man after God’s own heart.” Although we don’t always have the ability to know someone’s heart, God certainly does and it is of tantamount importance to Him. His word is full of references to the heart; 725 to be exact.  When Jesus was asked, what is the greatest commandment, He answered without hesitation with Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” When King Solomon, David’s son, prayed for his nation, he acknowledged that God alone knew every human heart and he prayed that his people’s hearts would be fully committed to the Lord. God explains why the condition of the heart is so critical. He inspired Jeremiah to warn, “ the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”   God revealed this much to Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, he wrote in Proverbs, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” So many of the Old Testament prophets were instructed to warn the people, not just about their behavior, but about the condition of their hearts, which was the source of their sin.  Joel cautioned, “Let your remorse tear at your heart and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful.” Isaiah gave the Israelites an insightful, but convicting message from the Lord when he said, “ The Lord says, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”  Jesus quoted that very scripture to describe the condition of the Pharisees, who were considered among the holiest people of His day. These respected men were experts when it came to interpreting and applying the Law.  They were very careful to follow it to the letter, even going so far as to tithe the proper amounts of the herbs they grew in their gardens.  They took great pride in their devotion to fulfilling even the smallest requirements of the Law.  Jesus, however, was not impressed.  He called them out for fussing over minor details while they created exceptions in the Law that would allow them to abandon responsibility for their own parents in their old age.  He criticized them for turning His Father’s House, the temple, into a den of thieves and accused them of being like whitewashed tombs – clean looking on the outside, but filled with dead men’s bones and decaying flesh. No one but Jesus would have ever dared to speak that way about the Pharisees.  Aside from the High Priest, no one had more power or influence with Rome.  The Pharisees, along with the Sadducees and chief priests, comprised the Sanhedrin which was the ruling, elite class of Jesus’ day.  The wealth, power and respect that came with the title led the Pharisees to believe that they were, “just a little bit superior” to everyone else.  Jesus pointed it out when He told the story of two men who went to the temple to pray.  The tax collector cried out for God’s mercy because he recognized that he was a sinful man, but the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like the tax collector beside him or other sinful people, because he fasted twice a week and tithed a tenth of everything he had.  Jesus said only one of them went away forgiven, and it wasn’t the Pharisee. That probably came as a surprise to His audience, because they were used to thinking of Pharisees as the holiest people around.  From their outward appearance, they looked pretty righteous, but no one could miss the disdain they showed for everyone else.  Jesus dared to point out their hypocrisy because He recognized exactly where their superiority complex came from – hearts that were far from God.  They studied the prophets ad nauseam but failed to recognize that Ezekiel’s words in chapter 11 were meant for them when he said, “ I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”  Jesus called them out again and again, in an effort to make them see their hearts’ true condition.  In Matthew 13:15 He said, “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears and they have closed their eyes.  Otherwise, they might see with eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” Having an authentic relationship with Jesus is impossible without a heart that is wholly His.  Just like the Pharisees and my deceptive friend, we can follow all the rules and present a very convincingly righteous outward appearance, but if our hearts are full of ourselves instead of Jesus, we are frauds.  And though we may be able to fool the people around us and even ourselves,  God knows exactly who and what we are.  In Luke 16:15, Jesus said, “ You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of people, but God knows your hearts; because that which is highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God.”  Ultimately, no one can fool the maker of the Universe and the only opinion that really matters is His.  And yet, we often devote so much of our effort toward doing things that will make us look good on the outside while we neglect to open our hearts to the Lord and ask Him to make them more like His.  Creating an impressive exterior only requires self-control and determination.  Developing a heart for God requires humility, sacrifice, introspection and time.  Is it any wonder that our natural inclination is to focus on the outward appearance?  But what comes naturally is always inferior to what comes supernaturally.  In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us a pretty good reason to pursue having a heart for Him.  “Blessed are the pure in heart,” He said, “ for they shall see God.”  The more we allow Him to purify our hearts, emptying them of ourselves and filling them with Himself, the more we will see, know and experience His glory. I’d like to close with this benediction, from 1 Thessalonians 3:13.  “May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.”  Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.

Trusting God in the dark places can be extremely difficult to do. Our guest, Linda McGrane shares what life and death looked like to her as she walked through an extremely bleak place with an outcome that only God could make happen.   Miracles can come in different ways and God moves as He wills. May you be inspired by hearing Linda's story and be moved to a stronger faith, knowing that with God, all things are possible.  

Have you ever wondered where you really belong? Or doubted that how you show up is really what others want and believe you to be? Are you who think you are? Do you believe that God made us to be misfits? My sisters, you didn’t get the part you tried out for because You Are A Misfit! Join Dr. Jia Conway as she sheds light on the glory of being a misfit!

We have all struggled with some form of fear. But, is fear preventing you from taking a step of faith into ministry? Tewannah shares how her fear of public speaking revealed a lack of trust in the Lord. Join her as she talks about overcoming this struggle and allowing God to fulfill  His calling on her life.

The amazing true story Who Is Able?: The Dana Louise Cryer Story is now available in paperback, hardback, and eBook! Join us by listening to Part I of Dana's podcast. This incredible story of forgiveness is something only God could orchestrate. Kidnapped at 5 years old, Dana was brutally harmed for over a decade in a shack in the woods, but she survived and was rescued. Dana lives to share what only God can do with a life that was robbed of childhood and teenage years and left to figure out her life at a young age.  Get a glimpse into this captivating account as Dana shares parts of her life with you in this podcast, preparing you for what you'll read in the full-length story, newly-released book, Who Is Able?: The Dana Louise Cryer Story.  Get your copy today at World Publishing and Productions or Amazon

We can all use a tremendous example of faith when we need it most. Today's interview with Natalie Keith is about trusting God through our darkest times.    Natalie shares of her past mistakes and how her shattered marriage took faith to resurrect when nothing else made sense! This is an incredible story of what God can do when we trust Him and walk forward in blind faith of what only He can do.

God is the master sower and HE uses our lives to plant for personal and kingdom growth. The question of the hour is are we planting where God can use and access our seeds not FOR HIM, but for US? Where is your seed falling? It’s planting time!! Join Dr. Jia Conway Evangelist, Author, Empowerment Speaker, Christian Life Coach Founder of “Changed From the Inside Out Ministries, LLC & "Epitome of A Woman Coaching Success Academy" Redefining Women with Purpose

God doesn't need our help. It is difficult to be patient when it doesn’t seem like God is moving the way I expect Him to.  Some part of me wants to step in and give Him a hand.  Helping is a good thing, right? We can trust God as we deal with anxiety.

To have healthy relationships, we must draw boundary lines. In the past, we may not known how to do that. Perhaps we went through doors that should never have been opened, and we paid a heavy price. Learning to do relationships God’s way is the key. Listen as Tewannah Aman shares how to evaluate the spiritual strength of your friendships and relationships. The goal is to have people around you who will encourage you to become more like Christ.

After a spinal cord injury left young adult Natalie paralyzed, she testifies of the difficult journey God brought her on and the lessons He taught her on how to be an overcomer through Him.    Today, Natalie Barnhard Castrogiavani encourages us all on what it takes to become "Fearless" through Christ and how she is now embracing being perfectly imperfect. 

It’s hard to be patient when it doesn’t seem like God is moving in the way I expect Him to.  Some part of me wants to step in and give Him a hand.  Helping is a good thing, right? In today's podcast, Julie Harwick shares from the Bible and her personal life how God has shown us that He is in complete control.   ****   Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. The steady cadence of marching feet dragged Peter from the depths of a heavy sleep. “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”  There was an ominous tone in Jesus’ voice that Peter had never heard before.  It immediately overcame his sleepiness and brought him to high alert.  He sensed danger, even though he was still unsure of what Jesus meant.  A sizeable number of Roman soldiers and temple guards approached, carrying torches and weapons as they followed a familiar figure.  Judas Iscariot grasped Jesus by the shoulders and quickly kissed Him on both cheeks while carefully averting his eyes from the Teacher’s gaze. Peter’s mind was flooded with memories of the previous hours, “one of you will betray Me… My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death… you will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered… even if all fall away, I will not.”  As the soldiers roughly grabbed Jesus’ arm, Peter’s heart pounded in his ears and adrenalin took over his body.  Without even realizing what he was doing, he grabbed the sword from a temple guard’s scabbard and clumsily brought it down, slicing off the ear of the high priest’s servant.  “Put your sword away,” Jesus commanded.  “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”  He reached down and picked up the severed ear from the dusty ground returning it to its’ rightful place.  If it weren’t for the blood dripping off the servant’s face onto his tunic, there would be no evidence that it had ever been sliced from his head. It was to be the Galilean teacher’s final act of healing.  As the soldiers pushed Jesus ahead of them toward the city, Peter watched, powerless to move, struggling to make sense of what had just happened. If you’re like me, it’s easy to judge Peter for the way he conducted himself on that final night with Jesus.  Impulsive is the first descriptive word that comes to mind when I think of Peter. Slicing off an ear is certainly evidence of that trait.  But would we be any different?  I wanted to begin the podcast by trying to experience that night in the garden from Peter’s perspective.  In trying to make sense of what was happening, I think his first thought was, “ This is not going well and Jesus isn’t taking action.  I have to do something!” Unfortunately, his thought process is probably painfully familiar to many of us. As I think about Peter’s situation, it brings back some memories I’d just as soon forget.   One of the most pivotal times in my life was a summer missions trip I took with Teen Missions International when I was 16. It took my relationship with God much deeper and brought me tremendous growth in many different areas. I hoped that someday, my children might have a similar experience. Teen Missions kept me on their mailing list and in February of every year, I received a brochure detailing all the mission trips available the following summer.  I always enjoyed looking through it to see where they were going and what they’d be doing.  The year my twin daughters were about to turn 10, I noticed that the organization was now operating pre-teen teams open to kids from 10-13, so I mentioned it to them.  That prompted a lot of questions about what it was like going on a missions trip.  I was encouraged by their interest and described what my experience had been like. I wasn’t suggesting that they do it, but I probably painted a pretty attractive picture of what it could be like.  Could God be calling them to do this? I was excited at the prospect, but did my best to avoid steering them in any direction.  I suggested that they pray about it long and hard if they thought it was something God might want them to do.  My husband and I also prayed for God’s direction in the matter, and asked that if it was something He wanted for them, that they wouldn’t be able to let it go. If you’ve never had a 10-year-old, you should know that they are very impressionable, easily excited and in our particular case, very eager to please their parents.  They hadn’t had much experience in praying for God’s direction, but they were pretty sure that He was telling them to do this.  We talked about some of the difficulties they were likely to face, but somehow, those didn’t seem as compelling as the excitement and fun that the experience promised .  As we began to help them raise support, a number of our friends and family seemed surprised that we were letting them go on a six-week missions trip at the tender age of 10. The team they selected would be staying in Merrit Island, Florida, approximately an hour’s drive from our home, so we would have the opportunity to see them once a week.  They had stayed away from home with grandparents and at sleepovers and they would have each other, so it didn’t really seem all that crazy to us.  Raising support was difficult.  We reasoned that it was because it was for two instead of one and some people might question the validity of a missions trip for 10-year-olds. We wound up having to make up what they couldn’t raise in support ourselves and it was substantial.  In retrospect, that probably should’ve caused us to question if God was really calling them to do this. To make a six-week story short, it did not turn out at all as I’d hoped.  There was no phenomenal spiritual growth.  They cried many tears, counted the days until it was over and came home with one case of strep throat and two cases of head lice that persisted for weeks to come. They felt that their team’s assigned work was pointless and didn’t accomplish anything of real significance. Twenty years later, they still can’t find anything positive to say about the experience and we’ve all come to the conclusion that it was a colossal mistake. At the time, I could come up with so many reasons to support the idea. They would be surrounded by other kids their age who were also eager to serve God.  They’d learn bible verses and how to have a quiet time and that when things are hard, they can rely on God. I fully expected them to have an experience just like mine.  But I was 16 and they were 10.  I was independent and eager to try my wings.  They were not very outgoing or confident around strangers.  The timing was not right, but because of my desire for them to make huge spiritual strides at the ripe old age of 10, I got ahead of God and tried to make something happen that was not part of His plan. His plan was more long-range than mine, and I wasn’t seeing Him doing anything to move things along.  Maybe a little like Peter.  Maybe even more like Abraham. Romans 4 tells us that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  He is listed in Hebrews 11 as an example of faith that we should emulate.  He certainly earned that recognition by uprooting himself from his homeland and obediently following God into a land completely foreign to him.  God blessed him for this obedience with vast amounts of land and wealth. But sadly, Abraham had no children to receive the inheritance and he was already more than 75-years-old. God spoke to Abraham and promised that he would have a son and that his descendants would number more than the stars in the desert sky.   Abraham believed God and eagerly waited to see the promise come to pass.  But years passed and nothing happened except that Abraham and Sarah got even older. Recognizing that she was already too old to conceive, Sarah reasoned that God must’ve intended to give her husband a child through some other means.  The elderly couple had grown tired of waiting for God to act, so they agreed that Sarah should give Abraham her maid, Hagar, as a concubine so that she could give him a son in Sarah’s place. Thanks to Abraham and Sarah’s intervention, Abraham had a son, Ishmael, by the time he was 86.  But God made it clear that Ishmael was not the child of His promise and predicted that strife and trouble would result from their presumption in solving the problem on their own. Another 15 years passed before Sarah became pregnant at the age of 90 and delivered God’s promised child, Issac.  God had it under control from the moment He made the promise, but his timetable was quite different from their’s and Abraham and Sarah found it impossible to wait. The two boys grew up as stepbrothers who didn’t really get along. They passed that rivalry on to successive generations and it continues to be a source of conflict.  If you didn’t already know, Issac became the father of Jacob, also known as Israel, from whom all Jews descend.  Ishmael became the father of the Arab nation which includes all the countries currently in conflict with Israel such as Gaza, Syria, parts of Lebanon and Iran. Abraham and Sarah believed they were doing their part to help God’s plan along by having Ishmael, but God had never intended it. The result was thousands of years of conflict with no end in sight. I pray that my efforts at “helping God along with His plan,” will not produce the long-term, horrific ramifications that Abraham and Sarah created. Twenty years later, it appears that my girls escaped relatively unscathed.  Their relationships with God don’t look just like mine, but that was never His intention for them anyway. They are both walking with Him as He leads them and I have learned that my job is simply to pray for them and leave the rest in His hands.  It seems the God of the universe really doesn’t need my help. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.                  

Are you tired of feeling like you are in a constant state of having to hold your breath? Tired of feeling like the tides of life are drowning your faith, and if you don't hold your breath, you are going to drown, too? Guess what? God's faith is big enough to get us through the high tides and to part the sea for the pass through...we just have to trust Him. Join Dr. Jia Conway as she proclaims you are coming through the waters, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HOLD YOUR BREATH!

God wants to transform us from the inside out, creating a heart that reflects the Savior. But the old man is set in his ways. It can feel like being stuck in a cycle of sinful behavior. Join Tewannah Aman as she shares how God revealed those areas of change to create a new identity. And that set this captive free!

You’ve done everything right. You heard God’s command and followed it, but things haven’t turned out the way you expected them to.  What’s going on? Join host Julie Harwick for an incredible biblical teaching on Dealing With Disappointment. *** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world.  Karen was about to make the biggest mistake of her life.  We’d gotten close in our high school youth group and she was a somewhat new, but very passionate believer.  We’d talked a lot within our group about seeking God and honoring Him in our romantic relationships.  But now that we were in college, Karen was in love and none of the principles we had committed ourselves to seemed to matter anymore. We were all home on Christmas break and Karen had invited us to her wedding which was to take place the following weekend.  She had met a Palestinian guy who was at the university on a student visa.  He didn’t want to go to school anymore, but he wanted to stay in the U.S. so his best solution was to get married. At the ripe old age of 20, she was certain that God had brought this man into her life to be the husband that she had always dreamed of and that their only hope to be together was for her to marry him immediately.  One friend, who was especially close to her, had tried to convince her that marrying him now was a bad idea, but Karen simply refuted every argument. A larger group of us got together to discuss the situation and seek God’s direction. Karen’s fiance’ was not a believer, and she was currently living with him, so those were two issues that we could confront with scripture. Matthew 18:15 also told us 5 “Now if your brother sins[k], go and [l]show him his fault [m]in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the [n]testimony of two or three witnesses every [o]matter may be confirmed, “ We all felt strongly that if we truly cared about Karen, God would have us talk to her about the poor decisions she had already made and the even larger one she was about to make. We looked up and discussed all the relevant scriptures so we’d have a biblical basis for our arguments, and we spent time praying that God would prepare her to really hear us and recognize that what we were saying was coming from love for her and not judgement.  We prayed that our own hearts would be right as we did it and that something  good might even come of it.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  Her fiancé was there, which made it particularly awkward, and both of their defenses were up.  We suggested that they at least wait to get married since they had known each other for such a short time, hadn’t met each other’s families and had so many cultural differences.  We asked how they would support themselves since neither had a decent paying job and weren’t even close to earning a degree.  They had answers, though not very good ones, for everything. We reminded her of what the bible said about living with someone you’re not married to and marrying an unbeliever.  The whole conversation was civil, but tense.  When we had covered every issue and it was clear that she was not receptive to anything we had to say, she thanked us for our concern, and we wished them the best and made our exit. We all shared a very deep sense of discouragement as we left. The last thing I heard about Karen was that she had moved to Gaza with him.  I often wonder what her life has been like and what it might have been. So why did it have to turn out that way?  Were we not faithful to do everything God would have us do?  Going into it, we were confident that if we handled the situation according to scripture, God would work a miracle. Couldn’t we look at it sort of like a formula?  God’s power + our obedience= a good outcome. But in God’s economy, there are no formulas.  Only faith. The prophet Elijah is a perfect example.  First Kings 17 and 18 contain an epic story of how God proved His superiority over any other god in an unmistakable way.  If you’re familiar with any of the kings of Israel, one probably stands out because he’s part of the worst power couple the nation ever knew.  Ahab and Jezebel were narcissistic, egotistical and just plain evil.  Not only did they lead the people to worship other gods, but they saw the prophet Elijah as the bane of their existence.  Ahab referred to him as, “the troubler of Israel” and Jezebel set out to kill all the true prophets in the country and nearly succeeded. First Kings 16:33 tells us that Ahab did more to provoke the Lord to anger than all the kings of Israel who came before him.  Elijah had the unenviable task of warning Ahab that the entire country would be punished with 3 ½ years of drought because of his sin. As the end of the drought approached God told Elijah to inform the king that he needed to assemble all of Israel on the top of Mt. Carmel, along with all 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Ashera.  Ahab complied and Elijah set the stage for the greatest showdown in Israel’s history.   Verse 21 says, “Elijah challenged the people: How long are you going to sit on the fence?  If God is the real God, follow Him.  If it’s Baal, follow him.  Make up your minds!”  He then instructed the prophets of Baal to set up an altar and prepare an ox for a sacrifice.  He would do the same, but neither he nor they could light a fire.  They would each pray to their god and the one who ignited and consumed the sacrifice would prove to be the true god.  The prophets of Baal prayed all morning long, but nothing happened.  By noon, Elijah began to mock them, suggesting that Baal didn’t answer because he was sleeping or too busy, possibly on vacation or maybe even occupied using the toilet.  As more time passed, they became more desperate, finally resorting to cutting themselves as a sacrifice until they were covered with blood.  But still, there was absolutely no response from Baal. At this point, Elijah declared that their time was up, and he would prepare his sacrifice. The crowd was mystified when he dug a large trench all around the altar and commanded that four buckets of water be poured over the sacrifice and the wood until both were drenched and the trench was filled with water.  Rather than performing mystical rituals or cutting himself, Elijah simply prayed, “Oh God, God of Abraham, Issac and Israel, make it known right now that You are God in Israel, that I am Your servant and I’m doing what I’m doing under Your orders.  Answer me God and reveal to this people that You are God, the true God and that You are giving these people another chance at repentance.”  Verse 38 tells us that immediately the fire of God fell and completely consumed the offering – even licking up every drop of water in the trench!  The people fell on their faces in worship and declared, “God is the true God!”  He instructed the people to capture the prophets of Baal and execute them.  He suggested that King Ahab eat and drink in celebration because the Lord was about to send rain.  Everyone did exactly as they were instructed.  Elijah climbed to the peak of the mountain and began to pray for rain.  Seven times he sent his servant to look toward the sea for signs of rain. On the seventh try, the servant reported a very small cloud, no bigger than a human hand.  Elijah sent him to warn Ahab that he’d better head home quickly before the coming rain stopped him.  Immediately the sky grew dark, the winds picked up and 3 ½ years’ worth of rain began to fall.  God supernaturally empowered Elijah to run like no one has ever run before or since.  The chapter closes with Elijah overtaking and running ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the palace. What a day for Elijah, right?  His prophecies all came true.  He was completely vindicated.  God showed up in a way no one could deny.  The people all acknowledged that He was the one true God and destroyed every false prophet with zeal. Desperately needed rain fell in abundance and Elijah outran a team of horses for miles and miles!  God’s power + Elijah’s obedience had completely turned things around!  Or had it? Ahab lost no time in bringing Jezebel up to speed on all that had transpired.  But her focus was not at all on the  miraculous events that had just occurred, but on her beloved 450 prophets of Baal who had just been eliminated. She immediately sent a messenger to Elijah informing him that by the next day, he’d be as dead as any of those prophets. Elijah had been on a spiritual high that we can only begin to imagine.  After years of misery, he had finally come out on top and more importantly, God had used him to bring Israel to repentance!  It was as if the day’s events had steadily inflated a giant balloon of hope for Elijah, but this message from Jezebel was a pin that unexpectedly popped and completely deflated that balloon.  He and his servant immediately fled to neighboring Judah.  He left his servant and went a day’s journey into the desert.  Taking shelter under a bush, he collapsed and begged God to let him die.  Physically and emotionally spent, he fell asleep.  As Elijah slept, God sent an angel to provide food and water for him at regular intervals. The only instructions given to him were to eat, drink and sleep because he had a long journey ahead of him.  When he had regained his strength, he traveled 40 days and nights to Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God, where he took up residence in a cave.  Hmmm. Mt. Horeb? Does that name ring a bell?  Or maybe its alternate name of Mt. Sinai?  If it doesn’t, I’ll give you a clue.  It’s called the mountain of God because it’s where God met with Moses and gave him the ten commandments. And when I think of Moses, I begin to see some parallels with Elijah’s experience.  Moses was also used by God to do extraordinary things for the nation of Israel.  He also prophesied to a king, pharaoh actually, who hated him.  He called the people to follow God and worship Him only. After miracle upon miracle and seeing the burning mountain of God and experiencing His awe-inspiring presence from the foot of the mountain those people declared, “ All that the Lord has commanded, we will do.”  But when Moses spent too much time on the mountain with God, they feared he wasn’t coming back and decided to forget the covenant they had made and create a golden calf to worship.  Both Moses and Elijah thought that the miracles they had taken part in had truly changed the people, but their behavior quickly revealed that it had not.  Neither man had asked God for the positions in which they found themselves.  They were reluctant, yet obedient servants.  I wonder if it seemed to them that God was simply toying with them for His own amusement. But that wasn’t it at all. He was preparing them for an encounter with Himself that was unlike anything any other human ever experienced.  When God asked Elijah what he was doing on the mountain, he replied, “I have worked very hard for the Lord God of the heavens, but the people of Israel have broken their covenant with You and torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets and only I am left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”  God responded by telling Elijah to stand before Him on the mountain.  “And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain; it was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face.”  After this incredible encounter with the Almighty, God gave him further prophecies and the reassurance that there were actually more than 7000 people in Israel who served the true God.  Elijah left the mountain renewed, encouraged and with a completely new understanding of Who God was.  Moses had a similar experience after he had dealt with the people’s sin of making a golden calf to worship.  Angry and discouraged by their behavior and overwhelmed at the prospect of leading such people, Moses asked God for a sign that He would actually be present with them for every step of the journey ahead. God warned him not to look at His face.  Moses was to step inside a cleft in the rock on the mountain facing away from God.  God would pass by and Moses could gaze on His glory from behind.  Not only did this experience give Moses the courage and determination to keep leading the people, but it transformed him physically.  When he came down from the mountain, his face was radiant with God’s glory, so much so, that the people were afraid to look at him.  It wore off eventually, but there could be no doubt that he had been in the presence of God. I had been familiar with both of these stories for years, but somehow, I had missed the connection.  And it goes even further.  Do you remember who Peter, James and John saw talking with Jesus when He was transfigured?  It was Moses and Elijah. Perhaps Jesus wanted his disciples to think about the special place those two men held in God’s heart.  The disciples had equally hard times awaiting them.  Was Jesus preparing them by reminding them of how His Father cared for and rewarded the faithful?  The Apostle Paul undoubtedly heard the story from Peter and it wasn’t lost on him.  It may have inspired him to write Romans 5: 1-5 and those words are the perfect way to close. “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in the hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character; hope, and hope does not disappoint.” Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.

THE LORD FIRST   As Miss Tennessee Waltz, Greta Heisey speaks out and shares her story about being in the public eye, battling rejection, and  keeping "The Lord First."   Greta shares what it's like to battle a world full of selfishness, lies, and humanism and combat it with God's truth while standing in kindness and full of love in the leadership position that God has called her to be in.  

The transgender phenomenon is a topic some would veer away from. Our guest today, Dee Miller, speaks out about her life living as a man, finding Jesus, and then her journey to transition back to the woman God created her to be, realizing through God's love that He never let her go.   While the world judges the outside appearance, God looks at the heart. Please join us today as we hear Dee's story and discuss, "Are You Judging Me?"

We have had many experiences that have left us feeling insecure and unsure of ourselves. God’s Word sets the captives free. Listen in as Tewannah Aman shares how the Holy Spirit can transform the way we think and feel, through the power of His Word. Our identity is no longer defined by what has happened in the past but by understanding and embracing His unconditional love.

So many thoughts pass through our minds in a day, but for most of us, few of them have much to do with what God has suggested we think about. What might happen if we could change our perspective? May this podcast by host Julie Harwick bless you!  *** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. Sylvester Foster Porter was the pastor of the small Christian and Missionary Alliance church we attended during my junior high years. In his early 70’s, he and his wife, Helen, were recently retired from being missionaries to the Philippines. They were old school. She played the organ and I never saw her wear anything but a dress, pantyhose and low-heeled pumps – never!  He preached through the bible, verse by verse, taking more than two years to get through Revelation. He had several mannerisms that always brought inappropriate giggling from my best friend and me.  Mostly bald, he had only a ring of white hair on the sides and back of his head, but it was full and thick.  He had a habit of saying, “Oh Beloved,” when he wanted to emphasize something while he clapped his hands to each side of his head, making the hair he had instantly disappear.  Seeing him go completely bald just like that always got us going.  Whenever he referred to his youth, he’d say, “when I was young and red-headed…”  Although I knew he was referring to the color of his hair, I always got a mental image of a small boy with not only red hair, but an entirely red head from the neck up.  We were probably 11 at the time, so we were very easily amused. Helen had a common phrase she was known for as well.  I can still see her shaking her curly white head and saying to other women of the church, “he’s so heavenly minded, he’s no earthly good!”  I didn’t really understand what that meant, but the other ladies would nod and laugh, so I filed it away as something I’d figure out when I was older. As I’ve thought about her odd comment over the years, I think I know what she meant, but I don’t believe it’s actually possible. Pastor Porter clearly loved the Lord.  He loved to study God’s Word, meditate on it and share it with others.  I suspect that when it was time for household chores or to listen to her plans for the day, he was often distracted by the many spiritual questions he was pondering. I’m sure she often found that annoying, but on the other hand, I know many women who would give anything to see their husbands occupied with thoughts of God and His truths. Is it possible to be so heavenly minded, that you’re no earthly good?  Colossians 3:12 tells us, “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.”  That seems like a pretty clear directive and confirmation that Pastor Porter’s mind was exactly where it needed to be.  Although Helen Porter was the only person I ever heard use the phrase, “so heavenly minded, he’s no earthly good,” it was a common notion – at least during the life of Christian author C. S. Lewis. In referencing this popular saying, he strongly disagreed. “On the contrary, most of us are so earthly minded that we are of no heavenly or earthly good. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.” We are so easily distracted by things that seem to demand our immediate attention.  We have jobs, household chores, families to manage, appointments to keep, friends who need us…the list goes on.  And add to that Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, our favorite tv shows, movies and sports teams.  With all of our obligations, we deserve a little me time, don’t we?  There are so many demands on our time and energy, swirling around us like an ever-strengthening whirlpool, threatening to consume us. How could we possibly find time to focus on heaven and things we can barely begin to comprehend? And yet, these are the very things that scripture commands us to think on. We’re given a list of them in Philippians 4:8.  “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”  There aren’t a lot of things on this earth that meet that criteria, so it sounds more like a description of someone who is heavenly minded. Jesus Himself was certainly heavenly minded. He talked about it 70 times in the book of Matthew alone.  54 of the 66 books in the bible refer to heaven.  It’s interesting to note that the bible begins and ends with references to heaven. Genesis 1:1 opens with, “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  The final chapter of Revelation says, “He showed me the great city, descending out of heaven from God.”  Heaven was one of the last things Jesus talked about with His disciples the night he was arrested. In John chapter 14 we read, “In my Father’s house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”  Those words were intended to bring comfort to the disciples who were about to face the most devastating 24 hours of their lives.  They were also meant to bring comfort and curiosity to us. As children, most of us did have quite a lot of curiosity about heaven.  We asked a lot of questions and our parents did their best to answer.  A very common question upon the death of a beloved pet is always, “do animals go to heaven?” As a child, I always thought of heaven as having everything I loved and nothing I didn’t, but as time went by, I thought of it less and less.  I heard all the jokes about people who arrived at the pearly gates to be questioned by St. Peter and I saw movies like “What Dreams May Come,” that portrayed heaven as an unknowable, ethereal place as well as cartoons of people sitting on clouds, playing harps for all eternity.  None of that made me eager to go there. I believe that one of Satan’s most brilliant moves was to convince our popular culture that heaven is incredibly boring, filled with a bunch of “goody two-shoes, sitting on clouds in white robes, looking like angels.  Conversely, many people believe that hell is filled with people who liked to have fun on earth and are continuing the party in hell.  It’s a little warm down there, but it doesn’t spoil the fun.  Unfortunately, in the case of hell, nothing could be further from the truth.  And fortunately, that’s also true of that diabolical view of heaven. My impressions of heaven changed dramatically when I discovered author Randy Alcorn. He’s written numerous Christian fiction novels that have quite a bit of the story taking place in heaven.  I was surprised and delighted at the way he portrayed it. The people who had acknowledged their sinful nature and received God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ did participate in awesome, extended worship services standing around the throne, but they did so many other things as well.  They spent one on one time with Jesus, having their eyes opened to the way He was working in their lives when they couldn’t understand what was happening to them.  They had work to do.  Satisfying, fulfilling work that they enjoyed.  They had their own private spaces, that God had designed specifically for them that included everything they had loved on earth as well as things they had never imagined.  They were able to spend time with loved ones who had gone before them as well as ancestors they had never known and learn how they had been observed at times and prayed for through various trials.  The author makes it clear that he is using his imagination in conjunction with what scripture does tell us about heaven and about God’s character.  He doesn’t claim that his version of heaven is more accurate than anyone else’s, but he encourages readers to spend time thinking and imagining with him.  He’s also written a non-fiction book called, “Heaven,” which I highly recommend.  It’s presented in a question and answer format and he does his best to give the logic as well as the faith behind his answers.  It’s not the sort of book you read straight through, because it’s deep and challenging, but it’s a great reference source for specific questions and will encourage you to spend more time thinking and imagining what heaven will be. That’s exactly what I believe Paul intended when he wrote, “Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.”  The days we spend on this earth are a miniscule fraction on the eternal timeline.  And yet, we often live as if this is all there is, consumed by the cares of this world and oblivious to the next, where we will spend eternity. And I know, even trying to comprehend the concept of eternity blows our minds.  We are such time-oriented beings, the absence of it is really beyond our comprehension.  But God created humans to consider things that are beyond their comprehension – that is how we learn and grow and advance.  And no doubt, that is why He challenges us to meditate on things that are above and even beyond our comprehension.  That will cause us to learn and grow in our knowledge and appreciation of Him and His creation.  It will cause us to advance in our spiritual walk with Him and prepare us for an eternity in His presence. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.

Faith and Business. Today's guest, Tina Rains from Masterpiece Women, is a successful businesswoman who has combined her success as an entrepreneurial woman of faith with her business leadership skills and ministry in an Ephesians 2:10 way.   Be encouraged today to share your faith within the business world.   ****** Kimberly Hobbs  0:06   Welcome to empowering lives with purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I am the founder of Women world leaders. And I am so happy to introduce to you our guest today, who is Tina rains. And she also runs a ministry called masterpiece women. And today we get to talk about faith in business. Welcome, Tina. Tina Rains  0:30   Thank you, Kimberly, for having me. I'm so excited to be here with you. Kimberly Hobbs  0:35   We are so excited to have you. And ladies, we're hoping today that it is our prayer to strengthen you, encourage you, and empower you to share stories with others about how God has moved within your life. And we're going to hear today from Tina a little bit about how God has empowered her to move forward into ministry but also incorporate business into that. So we're hoping that by her sharing her story, this will encourage you to share your sometime as you just see what Tina is doing within her business. Ephesians 210 says we are God's masterpiece, we are created anew in Christ Jesus to do the very good things that he has planned for us long ago. And as those of you that follow empowering lives with purpose podcast, know that I use that scripture. Often when I open up, and I just am giggling because that is actually Tina and masterpiece women's verse for the ministry. And I love that. So you're gonna hear more about that in just a little bit. And I want to introduce to you Tina, and read a little bit about who Tina is. Tina is an RN. She's the founder of masterpiece women driven to help women know that they are a masterpiece based on Ephesians 210. The verse that I just read. She has a driving passion to help women understand who they are in Christ, build authentic community and give them tools to succeed in business. And in ministry. Tina is married to Monty and together they have seven children. And she's now a meanie to seven grandbabies. And Tina and Monty serve as couple chose for bi annual J H Outback marriage retreats. And I've heard about those retreats and they're supposed to be phenomenal. Tina started her career as an entrepreneur at the age of 25 and started her first healthcare staffing office. And in 1995, she was operating out of her garage. Within a few short years, she had eight offices around the country and was making millions of dollars per year. Yet, she still had a void in her heart. So her done, identity was not completely in Christ. She didn't except when a masterpiece woman she was. And Tina came from a childhood of poverty and abuse. And so now we're going to talk about some of Tina's story which led her into our topic today, which is faith in business. So Tina from a childhood, you came from a childhood of sexual and physical abuse, but you had to get healthy again in many ways, and you were sharing that with me. God took you on a journey to complete surrender and prepares you for the area of ministry He's called you to which is faith in business with masterpiece women. So knowing the old way of living left you feeling solid and spiritually dial into that inside, you rebuilt the brokenness of your life by climbing a mountain ladies, this woman has climbed a mountain in India and not just any mountain. So I'm going to ask her to share about this. But as I read this verse, Hebrews 611, and then 12 promises us, then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and endurance. And God called you to go climb a mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro and India. How in the world did you get there? Tina Rains  4:36   Oh, my goodness. Yes, it was quite the it was quite the climb, to say the least. But I do. I do correlate it many times to my spiritual climb because as a woman, young woman, I was still very broken. And I put a lot of energy and a lot of my passions into building business because that made me feel good put on quote about myself. And I realized that there was still something missing. And I knew that and I had made some choices because I was still broken in my younger days of relationships that weren't healthy for me things in my life that weren't healthy for me. And I realized, something has to change. And the patterns that I'm making in my personal life, are just not working from a spiritual perspective. And so I went on a journey of really seeking the Lord, I went through a divorce, and I was devastated and went through a very difficult time in my life. And so I just said, Okay, Lord, it's you and me the next couple of years, I'm just gonna dig in deep and I surrendered. I went through some, some programs, including, you know, inner healing and broke some strongholds, just really navigating with the Lord going, what do I need to do to be completely intimate with you and surrender to you? What what are those strongholds that are still holding me back. And I recognize that I still had many that I had to work through, even though I'd gone to, you know, counseling, etc. And I believe in counseling, but I believe that when you really surrender your life to the Lord, and you say, and here I am, us, me, he just transforms your life completely. And so, in that season, I did that. And I went on my first mission trip to India, where he spoke to me very clearly, I was to come back, and I was to do something, but I had no idea what that meant. And so I had transitioned that already sold a large portion of my business, I had a small portion left, I was on all kinds of Board of Directors for many people, you know, many great organizations, but he said, I want to use your gifts and talents for me. And I said, Okay, so I thought, Okay, I'll get on Christian boards, instead of, instead of, you know, business boards and other, you know, Board of Directors, I just get on some Christian boards. He's like, no, no, that's not what I mean. Well, fast forward, I was invited to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which is the largest freestanding mountain in Africa won the world, but, and so I'm, like, climb me, I've never climbed a day in my life. Like, literally, that was not my passion. And so I said, Yes, after asking him for days to show me for sure. Very similar to this mission trip to India, because I didn't really want to go on the mission trip to India. But I believed he told me to do it. So I did and all came together. And one thing led to another, I'd met this amazing woman there that I loved. And we ended up going as tentmakers to climb Mount Kilimanjaro together. And in that journey, he showed me that I was to come back and lead that movement. And so then I went on to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, a second time base, camp, Everest, the Alps, all these climbs. And what I saw all over the world, as I spoke, though, is so many women were just like me, they were still held back by bondage, and brokenness, and there's so much abuse. And what's beautiful about that, though, Kimberly, is that even though the enemy meant it for our destruction, God then was able to use it, to bring glory to Him to help others. And so I could look back and reflect on all that pain and all that suffering. And know that as I was dealing with these women who to or dealing with these issues, gave me such a compassion for him. It gave me such a passion to help them. And so as we built that ministry wasn't just about climbing on behalf of the women, children, we were being voices for it was also very intentional to provide retreat type training at all of our climbs where they could just get real and raw with the Lord and break some of those strongholds themselves. And so it was both for the women coming, and the women that we were serving, and it was just such a powerful opportunity to watch God redeem what the enemy meant for destruction. So it was a very, I Kimberly Hobbs  9:04   love that. I love that Tina, and you were sharing with me that just the impact that you were having, when you were able to get raw and transparent. Lady sometimes that's difficult for us to do as expose our own our own weaknesses in front of others. But sometimes when we do that, we can allow others inside and let them know that it's okay. You're a safe place because you've been through some things. And just because you're in leadership, it doesn't mean that you have to hide everything. I mean, women need to know they need to trust you, and before that they can learn from you. So talk about how, Tina how you climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, but God took You on other climbs now. And you were getting raw and transparent with others? And can you talk about some of those moments of getting raw and transparent with some of the women? Tina Rains  10:09   Absolutely. So one of the most powerful things for me in our community specifically was in when you climb these mountains, there was a fundraising aspect to it. So you're doing these events. And I shared my vulnerability and my childhood with hundreds of people that I had invited to a fundraiser. And it transformed not only my life, but the so many people's lives that were at that event, because they had this picture of this business woman who had it all together, I think some of them thought that I had been spoon fed. I don't know what they thought exactly. But they'd been in my home. And they had just, you know, they thought of me in one perspective. And when I was real and transparent with them, it's a no, look, this is what I suffered. And this is what I still have to do on a daily basis, oftentimes, when the enemy tries to use a trigger and deal with it. And that's what these victims of human trafficking and repression also experienced, and I correlated it, they were able to then be raw, authentic and transparent themselves. And I think as leaders on a daily basis, whether it's in business or ministry, as being real, with our weaknesses, gives permission to those around us to be real and raw and authentic. And that's one of our key pillars and masterpiece women, because I see such great value, and as being real and transparent, because it brings freedom, and then others are free to do it as well, because oftentimes, leaders are isolated, they feel like they can't be real and authentic and transparent, because it shows them as being weak. And I don't believe vulnerability and authenticity shows you to be weak. I think it actually shows you to be a great leader, when you're willing to do that. Kimberly Hobbs  11:57   Amen. Amen. And I know one of the things we talked about was when you're in a key role like this, and you're an example in leadership, you give permission to the women to when you are vulnerable, right permission for them to open up and share. And Galatians 522 expresses how, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. And the absolute best type of leadership is a type where someone demonstrates these nine traits listed in the Scriptures. And I know you Tina, putting ministry and business together as God has called you to do you have to show your example in leadership and in share these nine traits. And how do you do that if you're not open and vulnerable with somebody if you're not allowing them to see into your own life, and those things that you have learned from? So being raw and exposing your past? Sometimes it's so helpful in leadership. And we're hoping that you understand that ladies, the Bible is a great business guide to us. So these fruits of the spirit that I read through God called you teen into the ministry, to be authentic with others, so that they can hear and have breakthrough also. So can you share how the power of the Holy Spirit worked in and through you to deliver some of these fruits of the Spirit to others. Tina Rains  13:46   I love that. And it's so key when you talk about the Bible being it's like the best book for leadership you can ever find. If you don't know what to do go to Proverbs, like its leadership has written the wisdom in there, I always tell him, it's really your very best leadership book. You can spend all day long reading leadership books, but if you don't get in that word, and really delve into it, so he can lead you, you're kind of wasting your time. So I tell I really start there every morning. That's where your wisdom comes from. But, you know, I would say that joy, one of the greatest things was when I've been through the most difficult times, and this is something that you know, I've shared with many women in the past is how I led many people to Christ that were in my circle of influence. When I went through this difficult time wasn't on my successes. It was actually the fact that I was going through a divorce. And I was struggling in other areas of my life, even you know, there was the recession in 2008, with the economy and all that went with it. And I was having some of the most difficult times in my life personally, but yet I had more joy than I'd ever had because I had finally surrendered. In my life to Christ, and so being them, seeing that not me preaching at them, not me hitting them over the head with the Bible, or like some people like want to do, but just them seeing that. And seeing that I still had the joy, and was still able to serve others and love others, was actually how a few of my friends that I was had the privilege actually lead to Christ moving forward, that were business women in my community that I was very close to you, but they weren't Christians at the time. But they were a great human beings. And so it was a real privilege to watch that. And as I, you know, climb these mountains. And as we, we worked with the women all over the world, I would say, the love and in our ministry, I think that's really what it all amounts to is the love of Christ coming out and being exposed to the women that came to give you an example, my greatest memory, of climbing all these mountains was when I had the privilege of sharing Christ with one of the women that came, we knew she wasn't a Christian, she climbed on behalf of the women and children. And I said, How are you doing? Because I knew she wasn't a Christian. And here we are all these Christians around her were worshipping we're doing all these things, right? She was I've never felt I said, Are you feeling comfortable on she goes, I've never felt more comfortable than this ever. And I thought, that's the love. And so one thing, you know, so we had a conversation about what that meant. And we were able to actually, as a team of women on the side of a mountain leader to Christ, like, that's my favorite memory, not all the other things that we can sit, that's my, my top memory. And then we came off of Mount Kilimanjaro, we have the same experience with the guy that was our head guide, I was having a conversation with the mascot. And Murphy knew Jesus. And you know, we'd built a relationship during that week. And he didn't know who Jesus was. And so we as a team had the privilege of leading him to Christ on the way back from the mountain, like, those are my two favorite memories of the whole all those years. And it's because the people around him, showed him love. And in return, he wanted what they had. And that's really why we're here, right? Kimberly Hobbs  17:16   That's exactly why we're here and our number one commandment to love one another. And you did you you showed that love, and you took that time for those that didn't know Jesus that saw that difference in your life, which is so beautiful. So So transitioning into now you are a boss in your business. And there are a lot of bad bosses in the world today. And no one ever wants to be one of those bad bosses, or the ones that are talked about, you know, on on the quiet amongst the employees. So how would you encourage the listener today to be a leader for Jesus in their work environment. Tina Rains  18:05   I think most importantly, it goes back to abiding in him, you have to spend the time to buy it in him to really have that intimate relationship with him. So that every step of every day is really Holy Spirit lead the prayer time during the day even you know, as as we make decisions on an email, for instance, if we pray before an email that most of those emails won't even get sent. Right, think about it. Right? Kimberly Hobbs  18:39   I, I agree. I pray before I send anything out. And there's so many times delete, delete, or rewrite, rewrite? Yes. Tina Rains  18:47   It's you know, it's so important because as people work with us, and as they see how we behave, I remember you, I told so when I said, I'm like a bipolar person, if I don't have Jesus in the morning. Kimberly Hobbs  19:03   Exactly. Right. Yeah. I know, ladies, we need to start our day early. Because when we do when we open our eyes, if that's the first thing that is on our heart is Jesus and you talking to him and you're giving him the whole day to take control? Right, take it out of our hands, but give it to him first thing in the morning. He's going to take us through those days. Do you agree? Absolutely. Tina Rains  19:29   100%. I mean, the when you talk to most teams, and as I've done consulting for businesses, and even for ministries, and you go in you, you listen to the staff, if they're having difficulties with the team 90% of what I've experienced in the workplace has been I don't feel heard. I don't feel valued. And so as a leader is It's imperative that we listen that we'd be good listeners that we know who our employees are, what are they going through in their lives, and really show them compassion, because it's really difficult for an employee to see someone says, Oh, I'm a godly leader, and I'm donating to all these things. I'm doing all these good works. But yet, you don't even know who I am. And the fact that my husband is suffering from cancer, and my teenage son is run away, because you haven't taken the time to know me. And those are the kinds of things that matter to employees and to people that work for you, as a leader. They want to be known, they want to be heard. So I believe we can do our greatest value in the workplace in the marketplace, of just loving others well, and having compassion for them, and being generous, having spirits of generosity, and seeing how we can affect them. Kimberly Hobbs  21:00   Wow. So true. Good advice. Good advice, being a good listener, right? That's what you're just talking about. Because, you know, if you just overlook, and you just are pushing your agenda constantly and telling people what to do, they're not gonna listen to you. They want to know that you're engaged. And you know, they're, they're on the same level with you. So, ladies, be a good listener, be a good listener, to be that good leader. Tina Rains  21:30   And John Maxwell says, People don't care what you know, unless they know how much you care. Kimberly Hobbs  21:36   Right. Amen. That is great. Yeah, that's a great word, John, thank you. Yeah, speaking Oh, I have another scripture. John 1715 says, My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. So ladies, we don't want to take you out of that work environment, we want to keep you in that work environment, so that you can be that light that's shining light, and God wants to protect you while you're doing that. Tina is going to close out and just share something from her heart, like a word of encouragement to the business woman out there, that has a heart for ministry, that sometimes keeps a mouth closed in the workplace. And it's sometimes it's so hard, because you might be one of those shy people or people that aren't easily ready to open your mouth and say something. But Tina, what's your word of encouragement to that person who keeps her mouth closed? In the workplace? Tina Rains  22:43   You know what I would say, be bold, not necessarily bold with, you know, hitting people over the head with Jesus, because they don't really want that they want it and actions. But I would say if you, you just share little tidbits where there's something small of you know, what you learned at church or whatever, just just share the wisdom, if you're adding value to others, they see it, it reflects beautifully of who God is, because Christ is always adding value to us. And I would say just add value to others. And the more you do that, the more you love others, while the more you listen, you know, they're, they're gonna see Jesus in you, and they're gonna ask you questions, and that's when you have the opportunity to be more bold, and share who he is to you and what it means to you. And, you know, the best thing we can do is live our lives, emulating him. Kimberly Hobbs  23:38   So I was just gonna say that. I mean, that's just what what Tina is saying, you know, living out like the fruits of the spirit that we talked about, right? And so ladies, if you don't open your mouth, necessarily, just remember, live it out, live out your life, having the fruits of the Spirit, which I can read them again, love. Do you display love, where you are working? Think about yourself in that work environment. Are you displaying love to those that you don't even like working with? It's difficult to do? Do you have joy about it? Do you have joy about you, ladies? Our prayer is that we all know Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. And when we do we have something to be joyful about Apsos Do you agree to you know, like we don't want to walk into the workforce. We want to share our faith in business and we want to be joyful about our faith because we have a God that died for our sins and we don't have to stay bound to that that sin anymore that drag us down that goddess into trouble, right? We have Tina Rains  24:50   a really, and we fall. Exactly. And you know what, there's nothing worse to us than to see a miserable Christian. Oh, well, if you're what a Christian is, and I'm really, I'm okay, because I'm happier than you are. And I do, I do encourage everyone as well is, if you have struggles, which we all do, right? Get to a place where you are free. And what does that mean? Just spend more time with Jesus praising him learning his word, letting him speak to you. Because when you're free, then you have those fruits of the Spirit bubbling out from you. And if you're not, and you find yourself grumpy ALL the time at work, and you're frustrated, you're this and you're that step back and take a little, you know, self evaluation, what in me, is still in bondage? And how do I need to allow the Lord to cleanse it to heal it and let go of the past and move forward? Because we can't be good replications of the Lord, if we have all this stuff going on, that is then spewing out to the people that we work with, because we're not doing the Lord. Any. We're not doing justice to you know who God called Mercy. Kimberly Hobbs  26:12   Exact Exactly. That's right. Right. And we're called to serve wherever we are ladies. And that includes the workplace if you're you're working for the Lord, but you know, even if you don't have a full time job, or part time job, and you are in your home, or your environment in the neighborhood, or whatever you're doing, we have to remember to put this into our everyday life that we are in positions where people are looking at us because we do call ourselves Christians and and I just love just hearing some of the nuggets that you learned along the way, Tina, because you know, now you've incorporated ministry into the business world. That's what you do, and masterpiece women. And I just wanted to finish some of these, again, fruits of the Spirit, patience, kindness or again, remember, as you're in your day to day life, ladies, and this may seem Elementary, but it's not. It's again, this is what God's called us to do as believers to just carry this within our person. patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control, that is huge ladies, we constantly have to have ourselves in check of all of our emotions. If people frustrate us to no end, we need to have that self control. Right, Tina? Tina Rains  27:34   Absolutely. That can be one of the toughest ones honestly, especially if you have a justice person you want to you want to see justice and someone's in the workplace not doing what you think is right. Having self control and reacting in love is so valuable. Kimberly Hobbs  27:55   So valuable, so valuable. Tina has so many good nuggets and what she does is amazing and masterpiece women can you share with the women your website in case they want to look you up and look up the ministry and and I just know that in the future women were leaders and masterpiece women may be doing some things together which I'm really excited about because I love love what Tina is doing for the Lord. So please Tina, share your your website. Absolutely. Tina Rains  28:28   It's masterpiece women dot O R G. And I am super excited Kimberly about this relationship because I know that God is doing something great. And we have monthly luncheons in South Florida and those are for all women. Because every woman is a leader you do not have to be in business to come to our luncheons. And then we have a program where we actually empower women who are interested in building business or online businesses. We have tools and a whole membership platform to help them actually do that as well. So check out our website. It's masterpiece women, dot o RG and you know we're here to serve you. So that's what the Lord has called us to do is help women everywhere know they're a masterpiece, and renewed him in him, and then help them with the plans that God has given them. So thanks for having us again. I love what you're doing your ministry. Kimberly Hobbs  29:28   Thank you Well, and that's what's so beautiful is together. We are empowering women, ladies out there. We love you. And we have a passion because God has called us and this is what Tina and I do together and all of those that are in our ministry serving. We have passion to empower one another and point them to Jesus to be the best leader that you could be wherever you are. Tina happens to specialize in taking those business women and bringing them to another level and incorporating ministry. together with it. And I love that. And that's why I want to continue this relationship. And ladies and women, we're leaders, we have tools for you. And I just want to be certain to remind you, one of the most amazing tools that God has given us to share with the world is voice of truth. It is a publication that comes out every quarter now, and it is free, and it's beautiful. Inside the United States, you can get your color copy of voice of truth magazine, it's like table top quality magazine. And it's 100 pages, full color, all color, all beautiful, but filled with scripture, filled with encouraging you wherever you are in your walk. Whatever struggles you may encounter, it's inside of this. And we are just so happy. Oh, are you you're holding your background. Yeah. For those of you watching on YouTube, Tina is holding up a her color copy of voice of Truth magazine. And we are just so excited. Unknown Speaker  31:08   I love it Kimberly Hobbs  31:09   you with a yes, he's doing so much in and through this. Also, ladies, if you would like your to receive your free copy, if you're not getting it yet, and you are inside the United States, you can email us for your free copy at women world leaders.com. And there's a place in there where you can click on voice of truth and give us your name, address an email address that will not be shared ladies, it is just for women world leaders. And, and then again, we will send it to you and outside the US. You can look up on our website voice of truth and you can read it online as well. As well as all of the past copies of voice of truth. There is so much information in there to help you and encourage you on your daily walk with Jesus. And that's what we're all about ladies. So we'd like to thank you for your time today. I'd love to thank you again Tina Raines for being with us. God bless you in what you do at masterpiece women. God bless you the listener ladies and please join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday for our different podcasts that we have available through women world leaders, we're here to help you encourage you reach out to us at women world leaders.com And in ways that we might be able to help you further. God bless you all, just remember that it is from his heart to yours that we are here. All content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent. God bless you and have a beautiful week. Thank you. Thank you, Tina.

Come on Down! Yes, You! God wants to use you, Daughters of Jerusalem. God uses the small, the outsider, those behind the scenes, the timid, and the outcast to do amazing things for His Kingdom. It's Your Time & Your Turn!  COME ON DOWN!!

Life sure seems hard sometimes.  Wouldn’t it be great if things came a little easier for us? They certainly did for Saul, Israel’s first king, but it didn’t work out as well as you might think. Join as host Julie Harwick takes you on a journey you won't want to miss! ****  Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. My husband and I have had the opportunity to travel quite a bit in the last year – much more than usual.  I’ve enjoyed every bit of it, but it has brought an unwanted side effect – quite a few extra pounds.  As a petite woman of a certain age, I have to be pretty careful about how I eat if I don’t want to have to purchase a whole new wardrobe.  But when I’m on vacation, I throw caution to the wind and take a vacation from my normal diet.  It makes the vacations more fun, but reality hits quickly  when I return to a much higher number on the scale and increasingly tight-fitting clothes. It’s always so much easier and enjoyable to put it on than it is to take it off.  I was contemplating that reality recently and desperately wishing for a quick fix when I re-read the story of Saul, the first king of Israel. There’s a lot we can learn from him, but what stands out most is the dangers of leading a charmed life where everything just seems to fall into place. Saul’s story begins in the book of 1st Samuel. For the first 400 years of Israel’s existence in the promised land, the people were governed by a series of judges.  You can read about it in the book of Judges.  During these four centuries Israel alternated between seeking to please God and walking away from Him depending on how things were going for them.  Their enemies would oppress them and they would cry out to God for help.  He’d send them a judge like Gideon or Deborah to lead them in victory over their enemies, and filled with gratitude, they would serve God… for a while.  As they drifted away from Him yet again, God would allow another enemy to oppress them until they turned back to Him in repentance.  The cycle repeated itself over and over with the recurring line repeated throughout the book, “in those days there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes.” The people of Israel recognized that the situation wasn’t good and something needed to change.  But instead of considering that the problem could be that everyone doing what was right in their own eyes, rather than what was right in God’s eyes, they decided that it was the lack of a king creating this annoying cycle.  They noticed that all of the countries surrounding them were ruled by kings and like immature children, they went to their spiritual father, God’s anointed priest, Samuel, to demand a king.  Samuel was not impressed with the “everybody else is doing it” argument and pointed out the negatives associated with having a king.  He reminded them that a king would tax them heavily so that he could live in luxury.  He would conscript their sons into his armies and their daughters to make perfumes, cook and serve at the palace in other ways.  He would make unreasonable demands of them and they would have no choice but to comply. Like petulant children, they essentially responded with, “we don’t care – we want a king anyway.”  God reassured Samuel that he should do as they asked.  “They’re not rejecting your leadership, Samuel,” He explained.  “They are rejecting Mine.” Here's the first lesson we can learn from the story of King Saul.  Be careful what you wish for -  God may give you what you demand – even if it’s not what’s best for you.  All of the warnings Samuel had given came to pass for the Israelites. Anytime we look to a king, or a president, or a governor or any dynamic leader to solve all our problems, instead of making God’s leadership supreme in our lives, we are at great risk.  God never forces His way in our lives, that’s what free will is all about.  If we ignore His warnings and insist on having our own way, He’ll allow it, but there may be a high price to pay for our stubbornness. God orchestrated a chance encounter between Samuel and Saul and immediately told Samuel that the young, good-looking man, who stood head and shoulders above everyone else was to be Israel’s first king. In spite of his impressive appearance, Saul seemed to be quite humble at this point in his life. When Samuel hinted at what was about to happen, saying, “At this moment, Israel’s future is in your hands,”  Saul replied, “I’m from the smallest of Israel’s tribes, and from the most insignificant clan in the tribe at that. Why are you talking to me like this?”  Initially, he seemed a very reluctant king.  When he returned home to his uncle after Samuel had privately anointed him king, he never mentioned any of the incredible things he had just experienced. When Samuel officially introduced him as the newly appointed king, he was ultimately found hiding behind a pile of baggage.  Saul’s story is another example of how power and fame can change a person. When Samuel privately informed Saul that God had selected him to be king, he anointed him with oil and told him three very specific things that were about to happen to him as confirmation. Samuel predicted that the final sign would be that Saul would encounter a group of prophets playing musical instruments and prophesying.  “What’s more, “ Samuel said, “is that the Spirit of God will come on you and you’ll prophesy too.  In fact, you’ll be transformed into a completely new person!” When I read those words “transformed into a completely new person,” I immediately thought, “I want that!”  I thought of all those extra pounds and inches just disappearing instantaneously, but that felt kind of frivolous. So, what if God took all of the things I struggle with spiritually, emotionally, relationally and just instantly fixed them and made me a whole new person? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate?  It was exciting to think about, but as I did, God reminded me of what I knew of the rest of Saul’s story. The new person he became after his episode of prophesying started out pretty well.   Even after he was publicly named king, he returned to his uncle’s fields and started plowing.  His humility caused some people question his credentials and refuse to acknowledge his status.  But when his neighbors in Jabesh Gilead were threatened, the Spirit of God came upon him again and he took charge, leading Israel’s army to victory. Many of his new-found fans suggested that he round up those who had questioned his leadership and have them executed.  But Saul had no interest in revenge, saying, “This is the day God saved Israel!  No one will be executed today.” But it’s funny how a little fame and power can change your perspective, especially when you’re under pressure. Saul’s reign had been going perfectly, but the Philistines started causing trouble again. King Saul summoned his army and they came, but quickly recognized that they were vastly outnumbered and in serious danger. It was unthinkable to venture into battle without the Lord’s blessing, which would come after Samuel arrived to offer the necessary ritual sacrifices.   Samuel had communicated that he would arrive within seven days to perform his duties.  Seven days passed, but no Samuel. And his troops were getting really antsy.  They were already nervous about their odds and when there was no sign of Samuel, they began slipping away in large numbers.  Fearing that he would have no army left, King Saul decided to take matters into his own hands and make the requisite offerings himself, even though it was in direct violation of the Law of Moses.  While the animal sacrifices were still burning, Samuel arrived, demanding, “What in the world do you think you’re doing?”  Saul responded with what he thought was some very solid reasoning. “ I saw that I was losing my army and that you hadn’t come when you said you would,” in other words, “your fault, not mine.” And then to seal his argument with an extra spiritual rationale, he added, “the Philistines are about to come on me and I haven’t yet come before God asking for His help. So I took things into my own hands and sacrificed the burnt offering.”  Samuel was not impressed. “That was a foolish thing to do, “ Samuel replied.  “If you had obeyed God by waiting for me to make the sacrifices, He would’ve set a firm and lasting foundation for your reign.  But instead, He is already looking for your replacement.” This was a pivotal moment in Saul’s life and from here, things went from bad to worse. Israel was constantly at war with the Philistines during his reign and in one battle, he superstitiously made a ridiculous vow that nearly cost his son, Jonathan, his life.  When God told him to completely annihilate the Amalekites – all people and possessions, he allowed his men to keep the best of the Amalekites’ belongings and neglected to eliminate their king. When Samuel confronted him about his disobedience to God, he once again tried to rationalize it by saying that they had kept the best of the Amalekite’s livestock so they could sacrifice it to God.  Samuel, once again, was not impressed and reminded Saul that God valued obedience far more than sacrifice. Soon after this, God led Samuel to anoint an unimpressive young shepherd boy, named David, as the new king.  Few people even knew about it, but after his victory over the giant, Goliath, the name of David was on everyone’s lips.  When Saul heard his female subjects singing, “Saul kills by the thousand and David by the ten thousand,” jealousy overcame the once humble Saul.  From that point on, the King was tormented by a spirit of fear, jealousy, rage and confusion. He alternated between loving David as a son and trying to kill him. He depended on David to lead his troops against the Philistines, calm his troubled soul with his skill on the harp and even made the younger man his son-in-law.  But he threw a spear at him from his throne on two occasions and pursued him all over Israel and the surrounding nations in an effort to get rid of him once and for all. He would most likely be diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and paranoia if he lived today because of his rapidly changing moods and behavior toward David.  In his final years, he never had a moment’s peace and no longer heard anything from God. He was killed in battle against the Philistines along with his son, Jonathon. The man who had shown such promise and received incredible blessings from God did not finish well.  In spite of God’s miraculous works in his life, transforming him into a completely different person, he began to transform himself from a humble, obedient servant into a proud, jealous ruler.    By contrast, the shepherd boy, David didn’t have such an easy path to the throne.  As the youngest of many brothers, he was completely forgotten when Samuel asked to meet all of Jesse’s sons.  His brothers mocked him when he expressed a desire to take on the challenge of defeating Goliath.  He endured years of hiding in caves and mountains trying to escape from King Saul who wanted desperately to kill him, even though David gave him nothing but absolute allegiance.  The difficult road from shepherd to king, built character in David and taught him to rely on God for deliverance and vindication.  God actually transformed him into a completely different person through the hardships he endured… transformed him into a man after God’s own heart. When things come easily, we tend to not value them as much as we do the things we’ve had to struggle for. Although the idea of instant and painless transformation is appealing, it is not what’s best for us. The bible is full of characters who endured ridicule, hardships and persecution and in every case, it’s what drew them nearer to their maker and allowed them to accomplish His purposes. No doubt it’s what prompted James, believed to be the brother of Jesus, to begin his letter to the Church by challenging his readers to, “consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.  

We all have experienced rejection that has caused deep wounds to the soul. Some have been paralyzed by the pain. Today's host, Tewannah Aman, understands. Her podcast will encourage you as she shares how God enabled her to break free of the bondage created by hurtful things that happened in her past. God wants to heal and restore your broken heart. You no longer have to constantly be worried about what others think of you. We pray this message resonates and encourages you to meditate on His truths of who you are in Christ. Focus on His unconditional love for you and the promises of His Word. God is doing a new thing!! Breakthroughs are coming.

Trauma wounds from childhood through adulthood can be difficult to move beyond. But with God, all things are possible.   Please join us as Jaime Cowhick, founder of YANA Recovery Services joins us and shares her personal story. Jaime was orphaned at birth by two addicts and thrown into human trafficking and addiction, culminating in multiple suicide attempts. She now encourages others to live a life serving Jesus. 

In Julie Harwick's last podcast for Women World Leaders (Episode 551 - A Warning from the Ancients), she talked about the dangers of succumbing to false teaching because of the way culture so easily infiltrates the Church. Join her today as she looks more closely at how the modern Church came to be and begins to ask some hard questions, finding further confirmation that it’s very different from the Church described in the New Testament. **** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. In my very first podcast with Women World Leaders I shared how I came to faith. It’s not very glamorous or exciting, but it is kind of different and I’ll share some of it again because it’s relevant to our topic.  I grew up in a very devout Catholic home. My dad had attended Catholic school and mass on every Sunday of his life.  My mom converted in order to marry him and they made sure I was baptized in the Church before I was even a week old. He was so devout that even on vacation, we would seek out the nearest Catholic parish and make sure we went to mass either Saturday night or Sunday morning.  And of course, that meant I had to go to catechism for five long years.  But in spite of his unwavering commitment to the Catholic faith, my dad was a seeker.  He read the bible and many other Christian books and listened voraciously to a variety of Christian radio programs. He encouraged me to go to an after-school bible club when I learned about it in the fall of first grade.  At my very first visit to the Good News Club, I heard a clear presentation of the gospel and responded without hesitation.   For the next six years, it was the highlight of my school week and I threw myself wholeheartedly into everything it had to offer:  bible stories, scripture memorization and songs.  So on Monday afternoons I got filled up on the bible and on Saturday mornings, I got filled up on Catholic teaching.  But the deeper I got into each one, the more discrepancies I discovered between them.   Full disclosure here: I wanted to go to Good News Club where I was rewarded for my efforts with lots of candy, interesting bible stories and a fun time with my friends.  I did not want to go to catechism which offered no candy and kept me from the finest tv viewing of the week – the one 4-hour block of programming designed just for me at a time when no one else in the household wanted to watch.  So, I may have been approaching catechism with a negative predisposition, but there was no denying the questions that began to pop up in my elementary school brain. Why do I have to memorize and repeat prayers?  I talk to God all the time about whatever pops into my head…in words that we both understand.  What in the world does “blessed is the fruit of thy womb” mean anyway? When I summoned the courage to ask a nun why I should pray to Mary, her answer mystified me.  “Mary will tell Jesus and Jesus will tell God,” she explained.  It immediately brought to mind the game of telephone that we often played when the class had to stay inside for recess.  Those messages always got completely messed up, so why wouldn’t I just tell God directly?  When a nun asked me whether I believed that the fancy box with curtains all around it on the altar actually held the body of Jesus, I knew how I was supposed to answer, but I just couldn’t.  First of all…gross.  Second of all, I knew there were Catholic churches in every city everywhere in the world, so how could there be enough of Jesus’ body for all of them? In Good News Club I had learned the story of the Last Supper and even my 8-year-old mind could grasp that Jesus was saying that the bread was meant to represent His body.  I had many questions and I grew more and more skeptical of what I was learning on Saturday mornings.  I must’ve shared my questions with my parents.  I certainly let them know how much I hated going to catechism and frequently begged them to let me stop going.  At the same time, God was busy at work in my dad’s life.  He brought a priest to our local parish who fully understood and preached what it meant to be saved by grace.  My father had heard that message for years from daily Christian radio broadcasts, but when he finally heard it confirmed by a Catholic priest, he was fully ready to receive it.  We continued to attend mass for about another year, but my catechism days were over. In retrospect, I’m kind of surprised at my younger self for not just taking everything I was told as gospel. I actually thought about everything I was taught and I believe that the Holy Spirit within me wouldn’t allow me to accept anything that conflicted with what I knew of God’s word. But somewhere along the way, I lost that questioning nature. I was confronted with that realization as I was doing research for my last podcast.  In trying to figure out how the church got so far away from its humble and simple beginnings, I read a book called “Pagan Christianity,” by Frank Viola and George Barna.  My husband had read it years ago and shared much of what he learned.  Although I was very intrigued by what he told me, I never bothered to read it for myself until now.  A part of me wishes I hadn’t, because now I’m responsible for what I know and I’m really not sure what to do with my new-found knowledge. The book examines everything the New Testament tells us about the Church and how it functioned.  And that is very, very different from the Church we know today.  More than half of the book is footnotes detailing where the authors sourced the changing history of the Church as well as comments from modern Church leaders. I was immediately convicted that even though I frequently criticize the Church of Jesus Christ  which looks more and more like the world and less and less like Jesus, I have accepted the status quo for years with very little scrutinization. Even though I’m well aware that the building I drive to on a Sunday morning is not the Church, I have fallen into the habit of thinking that what takes place there, is.  The authors clearly point out that Church is not somewhere you go, it’s something you are. The first followers of Christ understood this and were much more focused on being in fellowship with one another than having an order of business for their gatherings.  From what the New Testament tells us, they met together in individual homes where they could enjoy a meal together, learn from one another and encourage each other.  That’s it. No church building, no professionally trained clergy, no piano, organ or band, no four-point sermon with an accompanying fill-in-the-blank program, no announcements about upcoming events…it was very simple and very personal. So how did we get from A to B?  The book lays out the origins of everything that’s been added and most of it is rooted in paganism.  The culture of the first century was completely intertwined with paganism. Ruins that still remain from that time period are completely dominated by temples built for a large variety of gods and goddesses.  These magnificent buildings were filled with priests who served there, night and day.  They performed rituals, some seeming almost magical, while dressed in beautiful priestly robes. They received sacrifices and dispensed blessings, burned incense and led the people in chants or songs.  First and second century people were very accustomed to these practices and as the years went by, they slowly began to creep into the Church.  No one had a greater impact on this shift than the Emperor Constantine in the 300’s. The first pagan emperor to embrace and even legalize Christianity felt that building large, ornate church buildings would be the best way to build acceptance among the population who had been used to all legitimate religions being propagated through temples. He also instituted the practice of having priests and bishops to lead and determine what activities should take place within the new church buildings. He encouraged them to develop special robes and garments that would set them apart from ordinary believers.  He began to view Jesus strictly as a conquering hero who had conquered death and would now enable him to conquer all of the empire’s enemies. He then made the move from making Christianity legal to making it the official, required state religion.  Those who would not comply were seen as enemies of the cross.  Where following Christ had cost the early Christians everything, it was now, the path of least resistance. It makes you wonder if Satan didn’t come to the realization that persecuting the Church only made it stronger and he would do much better to weaken it from within. Is it any wonder that the more mainstream and socially acceptable it became, the further it moved from Jesus’ teaching.  Acts 3 describes the early Church this way.  “The congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and abundant grace was upon them all.” By the mid 300’s the Church was state-supported, used to control the masses and justify war against the empire’s enemies.  We also saw this new blending of government and religion lead to the Crusades and later, the  battle between Catholicism and the Reformation. It's been a long time since Christianity has been weaponized in such a  way, but there are other lasting ramifications.  Have you ever asked yourself why churches need to own property and erect large buildings? Many of them are only used for a few hours on Sunday and only sporadically throughout the rest of the week.  How many financial resources are required to maintain them, and how many congregations have been destroyed or seriously damaged through building campaigns?  Do good things also happen there?  Of course. But so many large churches provide the kind of anonymity that allows people to check a box each week- fulfilling an obligation without really having to interact with anyone or be accountable in any way for what’s been preached. The early Church pooled their financial resources and used them to meet their own needs, the needs of the apostles and those who were suffering from famine or poverty. By meeting in homes, they necessarily kept their numbers small enough to develop true intimacy and hold one another accountable for what they claimed to believe. The other change that Constantine instituted and has now become a requirement in most churches is a division between clergy and non-clergy.  In most modern churches that I know of, the pastor, or leadership team is made up of full-time, professionally-trained people who have been ordained to minister in the church as a profession. Most have some sort of degree from a seminary or bible college and it’s up to them to determine the church’s mission, practices, order of worship and overall direction. Elders may play a role in some of these areas, but on a typical Sunday morning service, the only people you’re likely to hear from are the preaching and worship pastors.  It’s quite a different environment from the one described by Paul in 1 Corinthians.  In Chapter 12, he lays out all of the spiritual gifts and the importance of each one being used appropriately to complete the Body of Christ. In Chapter 14 he specifically mentions that, “when you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue or an interpretation.” In Colossians 3:16 he encourages the Colossians to allow the word of Christ to dwell in them richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.”  Clearly, the members of the early Church were active participants in their meetings, not just spectators as we often are today.  Here’s what most church services I’ve attended look like:  the worship team gets things started with an upbeat song.  The worship leader, who is likely to be a professional musician, welcomes everyone and may sporadically offer some bible verses, or commentary on what we’re about to sing or a prayer before concluding the praise and worship part of the service and handing it over to the pastor.  Depending on the church’s size, resources and the preferences of its’ leaders, praise and worship can involve an organ and hymns or feel more like a rock concert  with special lighting, professional sound technicians and even fog machines.  The pastor is likely to speak from 20 to 50 minutes and in some cases, may invite a personal response with an invitation to come forward for prayer, or to raise a hand indicating a response or possibly to just silently repeat a prayer he leads. Ushers may pass a collection plate while more subtle churches may suggest that offerings be placed in an offering box on the way out. The worship team may return for a final song or the pastor may simply pronounce a benediction ending the approximately 1 hour and 15 minute service. If you so choose, it’s entirely possible to get through the whole service without uttering a word or interacting with anyone. Most modern church services encourage us to be consumers – seeking out the best music and technology and the most engaging preachers.  As a result, most church attenders go home entertained, but unchanged. Church attendance and involvement has been an extremely high priority in my life…always.  The only times I haven’t been very involved in a church is when we’ve moved from one to another and those periods haven’t lasted long. I’ve been a choir director, worship leader, creative team member, small group leader, women’s bible study leader, drama ministry director, children’s church teacher and church spokesperson.  I only mention all that to let you know how invested my life has been in the modern church.  But for the first time, I’m asking myself why we do what we do. And if it’s all really what God wants us to do. Honestly, I don’t know how to feel about it or what God would have me do about it.  There’s no question that it has morphed into something very different from what He described for us in the New Testament. There is a whole home church movement led by those who seek to return to something as close as possible to the early church.  Some function more like what many of us know as a small group, but others are successfully functioning just like the churches described by the Apostle Paul.  Many of you may be fully engaged in a church where you’re growing and deepening your walk with Jesus and other members of your church.  I hope so.  I’ve come to realize from personal experience that the Church of Jesus Christ will never be perfect on this earth because it’s filled with imperfect people…people like me.  But if we seek to make it better and more closely aligned with His purposes, should we just accept things as they are, or instead, boldly question everything? Change is difficult and frightening and uncomfortable.  Just ask the Pharisees how they felt about Jesus’ teaching. If you’d like to learn more about how the Church has changed over the past two millenia and what possible alternatives there might be, I can personally recommend two books:  the one already mentioned, “Pagan Christianity” by Frank Viola and George Barna, and also “So You Don’t Want to go to Church Anymore,” by Dave Coleman and Wayne Jacobsen. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.  

Doors are designed to keep some things in, some things out, or even just block things altogether in our lives. However, there are some doors we keep closed for far too long, missing out on an opportunity to experience the next phase of our lives. What might happen if you dare to open the door to the strange, the new, and the unexpected? What setup is lying behind The Open Door? Today's podcast host is Dr. Jia Conway.   

Join host Tewannah Aman for her podcast, "In Christ, I Can!" How many of us struggle with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy? Philippians 4:13 is a verse that many know well,  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” But how often do we freeze up? How many times have we not gone through a door? Or we haven’t taken advantage of an opportunity? Do I  hear a resounding yes and amen? I can relate. We have had many who have criticized and condemned us, and that has created a fear of rejection and a fear of failure deep within us. Those times when someone made us feel so  insecure and inadequate, telling us things like:   “You aren’t good enough. You are a failure. Why even try? You are hopeless and helpless.”  And the list goes on. When we accepted Jesus, we were adopted into His family. We are children of God and daughters of the King. But the tapes that have been playing in our heads don’t just disappear. Wouldn’t that be nice? We are now on a journey called the process of sanctification. That is when we seek God and His Word to renew our hearts and minds (Romans 12:1, 2). It is allowing His truths to transform us into the image of Christ. Walk with me as I share how God has enabled me to work through and overcome those fearful times that still can come back to haunt me. And let’s look at Moses and how he struggled with deep feelings of fear and insecurity.  When God called him, he practically refused.   He tried to  convince God He had chosen the wrong person.  We are in good company. God empowered Moses to deliver the Israelites. Even though he was scared, he went through the door anyway.  He trusted the Lord. And the Holy Spirit kicked in, and that is what He wants to do in each of our lives. He wants to reveal His power in and through us. He wants to heal, redeem, and restore the brokenness from our past.  So that you can be used to achieve great and mighty things for His Kingdom. May You seek Him with your whole heart (Jeremiah 29:11-13). God has chosen you. He has a purpose and plan for your life. How exciting is that?!! Now, go rock the world for Jesus.

There’s a reason the New Testament has so many warnings against false teaching. Join host Julie Harwick for a comparison between the church we see in Acts and the church we know today that shows how quickly we can get off base.  **** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. I recently had the opportunity to visit three of my bucket list places and God used it to teach me some valuable spiritual lessons in a way I hadn’t anticipated.  History has always fascinated me and especially as it pertains to the bible, so when I found a good deal on an Eastern Mediterranean cruise, I jumped at the chance to visit Athens, Rome and Ephesus. Israel is at the very top of my bucket list and I had hoped to go back in 2021, but thanks to Covid that never came to be.  And since October 7th, the prospect of visiting any time soon doesn’t seem very good either. But there are plenty of important biblical events that took place in the three ancient cities our cruise visited.  I was especially eager to see Ephesus since I had heard that it held some of the best-preserved ancient ruins in the world.  We were to see where the Apostle John was believed to be buried and where Mary, the mother of Jesus had lived under John’s care.  We would see the temple of Artemis where the book Acts details a near riot that broke out because of Paul’s preaching in Ephesus.  When John wrote the book of Revelation, he praised the church at Ephesus for standing firm in their faith despite false teachers and many hardships.  But he also admonished them for forsaking the love for Christ that they had once had. We walked for hours among the ruins of homes, government buildings, temples, baths, the second largest library of the ancient world and a massive amphitheater. I was awed to think that I was walking the very path that John and Mary had probably walked together a thousand times and I was seeing what they saw. But my spirit was uneasy when I entered the small stone house believed to be where Mary lived and I was encouraged to light a candle and pray to her.  After walking through her home we came to a spigot of water coming out of a stone wall which was believed to have healing properties because of its location near her home.  I have tremendous respect for the woman chosen by God to bear and raise His son. That honor sets her apart as an example for all women to emulate, but it doesn’t make her divine or worthy of our worship. When we reached the tomb where the disciple Jesus loved was thought to be buried, it was surrounded by the remains of what had once been an extremely ornate, costly shrine.  Somehow, it didn’t seem like the appropriate resting place for the simple fisherman who had stood at the foot of the cross when all the other disciples were in hiding and had given the next 70 years of his life to spreading the gospel to anyone who would listen. In Rome we visited the catacombs, a series of underground tombs where early Christians were buried and believed to have hidden during times of persecution. Our guide was well-educated but made it clear that he saw no difference between the faith of these early believers and the pagans that preceded them. To him, their beliefs seemed equally rooted in nothing but fantasy.  He theorized that the early Christians who suffered persecution under tyrants like Nero were the first to be buried in these tombs.  Because they were martyrs, they were considered to be particularly special to God and therefore would be among the first to be resurrected. Christians who came after them wanted to be buried near them to improve their chances of being among the first to be resurrected. I’m not sure if that’s actually true, but if it is, it smacks of pagan superstition, not solid biblical teaching. At the Vatican, we were told about the holy doors. Every 25 years, the Vatican declares a Jubilee in which 4 holy doors located in four different basilicas in Rome are opened to symbolize that God is calling people to repentance and to a new life of grace.  They represent His mercy which is available to all.  So far, I like this idea, but here’s where it goes off the rails. Pilgrims from all over the world come to walk through these doors because they will be granted a plenary indulgence – also known as a free pass to heaven. The Vatican still teaches that repentance and forgiveness will assure anyone a place in heaven, but walking through the holy doors will eliminate any time required in purgatory where the forgiven are theoretically still required to pay for their sins. Please don’t interpret this as an attack on the Catholic Church.  I was born into a Catholic family, made my first communion and attended five years of catechism, but when I learned to read the bible for myself, I could find nothing in it supporting the ideas of purgatory or indulgences. The biblical account of the thief crucified next to Jesus who repented of his sins and acknowledged Jesus’ divinity from his place on the cross proves otherwise.  Jesus responded to him saying, “today you will be with me in paradise.”  The thief freely admitted that he had led a sinful life and yet Jesus assured him that only paradise at His side awaited him immediately after death. So where did the Christian faith get some of these extrabiblical ideas?  Our trip to Athens shed some light on it. The Acropolis is the number one site to visit in Athens and it is impressive.  Set high on a hill, it contains the remains of multiple temples: the Parthenon, built to honor Athena, the city’s namesake, another for Nike, now known as the goddess of running shoes, the Erechtheion which celebrates Athena’s victory over Poseidon and the temple of Zeus. The Apostle Paul noticed the same thing when he visited the city noting that Athens was full of idols including an object of worship dedicated to the “unknown god.”  He used this fact in his conversation with the local philosophers and great thinkers to introduce them to their “unknown god” who was actually the one true God. So much of the New Testament deals with issues surrounding idol worship and points out the foolishness of worshipping something that had to be fashioned by human hands.  Because we don’t really see people worshipping idols of wood or stone, my attitude has always been, “well duh – that seems pretty obvious.”  But when you consider how prevalent it was to worship multiple gods represented as marble, stone or wooden figures in Greek, Roman and other cultures of that time, you realize that they were as blind to it as we are to the worship of material possessions, personal luxuries, leisure time and status. It seems that no matter where or when you live, Satan works hard to influence the culture to embrace idols and eagerly adopt false teaching. The New Testament is full of examples showing how easily false teaching and pagan ideas could infiltrate the early church. When the Apostle John wrote 1st, 2nd and 3rd John, his purpose was to combat the false teaching of Greek philosophers that had made its way into the local church. Gnosticism was a widely practiced and accepted theology at the time. Its focus was on the root word, gnosis, or knowledge and the thinking was that knowledge was the key to everything.   Certain people could attain “special knowledge,” that others didn’t have and attaining that knowledge was far more important than anything else.  They believed that the body and the spirit were two separate things, so what you did with your body had no impact on your spirit or your relationship with God.  Many in the church were buying into these ideas,  embracing every kind of sin and seeking a mystical, emotional experience. John addressed the heresy directly in 1 John chapter 3 saying, “ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.  The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil.” His closing words in chapter 5 reminded the church what kind of knowledge was really important, and how it would impact their actions. “We know that we are the children of God and the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him Who is true. And we are in Him Who is true by being in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” Warnings about false teaching was a pervasive theme in Peter’s second letter to the church. He reminded them that just as there were many false prophets among the prophets of the Old Testament, they could expect to experience the same thing, explaining, “They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.”   Peter was in a unique position to understand the dangers of false teaching, having been accused of it himself. This is one of the things I love about the bible – it makes no effort to conceal or gloss over the failings or controversies of its’ subjects. I’m referring to a dispute between Peter and Paul.  Paul’s ministry was focused toward the Gentiles, but Peter worked among Jews who recognized Jesus as the Messiah.  They never stopped being Jews, they just believed that Jesus was the final Passover lamb meant to not just cover, but actually remove the stain of mankind’s sin. As a Jew himself, Peter was accustomed to following the Law, but God gave him a vision showing him that he no longer needed to worry about keeping the Law in regard to what he ate or with whom he associated.  God made it clear that all who received Christ’s payment for their sins were justified by that alone, not by keeping the Law. He immediately sent a Gentile, Cornelius, to invite Peter to his home to preach the gospel. Previously, Peter would not have been free to enter a Gentile’s home, but now that he was, he did it frequently, eating with Gentiles and teaching them.  As time went by, many of the Jews who followed Jesus became uncomfortable with this new freedom and began adhering to traditional Jewish dietary restrictions and even preaching that Gentile converts needed to be circumcised.  Peter didn’t speak against this teaching and began distancing himself from the Gentiles.  The Apostle Paul called him out on it and relates the story in Galatians chapter 2.  “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him in public because he was clearly wrong. Before some men who had been sent by James arrived there, Peter had been eating with the Gentile believers. But after these men arrived, he drew back and would not eat with the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who were in favor of circumcising them. The other Jewish believers also started acting like cowards along with Peter.  When I saw that they were not walking a straight path in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew and yet you have been living like a Gentile, not like a Jew. How then, can you force Gentiles to live like Jews? Indeed we are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners,’ as they are called. Yet we know that a person is put right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ, never by doing what the Law requires.’” Ouch!  That had to be hard for Peter to hear.  Who could’ve imagined that Paul, the former persecutor of the church, would have to rebuke Peter, who had dropped his fishing nets, left his boat and followed Jesus without a moment’s hesitation.  The one who’d had his name changed by Jesus to Peter, because his recognition of Who Jesus really was would serve as the foundation for the entire church. The only disciple brave enough to step out of the boat and actually walk on water with Jesus!  If Peter could fall victim to false teaching how much more susceptible are we? It’s no wonder that the current Church of Jesus Christ bears so little resemblance to the Church described in the book of Acts.  And even those early believers who may have even had the privilege of walking with Jesus Himself, had to be educated and corrected time and time again. The New Testament is full of such examples and no doubt God inspired the Apostles to address false teaching so much, knowing how important it would be for  all believers, from the Church’s beginnings to the day of His return. So many New Testament authors caution us to “beware.” But Timothy, who trained under Paul, gave us some of the best advice in 2 Timothy 2:15. “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God as an approved workman, who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately handling the Word of Truth.”  We need to be in God’s Word daily, not just reading words, but studying them, analyzing them, asking the Holy Spirit to enable us to accurately interpret and apply them. In addition to the spiritual armor God gave us that’s described in Ephesians 6, He gave us a single offensive weapon: the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  We live in a spiritually dangerous world, so let’s make sure we’re always ready to use the only weapon we’ll ever need. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.        

When the worst tragedy of life hits, how does one cope?   Our guest, Renee Scheidt, a biblical teacher and author who holds a master's degree in theology and music, shares her tragic story of pain and suffering. Despite two major trauma experiences in her life, she was able to move forward through each one. Listen to find out how God intervened and delivered hope and healing in her darkest hours of living. 

In a world where we compete to "BE" for everything and "everyone," sometimes we need to be reminded as God's daughters, that we are HIS CHOICE! Join Dr. Jia Conway for this empowering and inspirational message.

Comparing is an exercise in futility and can actually be very harmful…and yet we all do it. Would we be so inclined to give in to this trap if we really understood God’s perspective? Join host Julie Harwick as she explores this topic. *** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. In the summer of 1981 I, along with nearly every other female on the planet, was captivated at the prospect of a royal wedding. Charles and Diana fever was spreading with every print publication in the checkout line and every television or radio news broadcast. The elusive prince had finally selected his princess from all the fairest maidens in the land.  Lady Diana Spencer was part of the nobility, but she was a kindergarten teacher for heaven’s sake; what could make her more relatable than that? As we watched her walking through the Scottish Highlands with her prince, showing the world her royal engagement ring and answering some of the hundreds of questions being shouted to her by the press, we imagined what it might be like to be her.  Nearly every little girl dreams of being a princess: wearing beautiful gowns and tiaras, dancing the night away at elegant balls, living in incredible luxury, being adored and admired by the people and especially by a charming prince!  Diana Spencer was about to have all  those dreams come true. When she walked down that long aisle of St. Paul’s Cathedral with angelic flower girls monitoring her enormously long train, we couldn’t help but envy her. Her face didn’t show the excitement we felt, but we wrote it off to nerves and shyness. Years later, we discovered that her lack of enthusiasm on her wedding day was due to something much deeper than nerves or shyness. What had appeared to be a dream come true to her adoring public was becoming more and more of a nightmare to the young princess. We could see the distance that was growing between her and her prince, but we couldn’t see the depression and sense of betrayal that led to bulimia and five separate suicide attempts. We had never considered what it might be like to have to put on a happy face and make unrelenting royal appearances while being hounded by paparazzi and reporters in the midst of an emotional crisis.  The life that had seemed so idyllic and desirable turned out to be anything but that. How many times have we looked at someone else’s life with envy, thinking that, in comparison to the life we’re living, they seem to have it all. Our human tendency to compare what we have with others goes way back. In fact, 20% of the 10 commandments God gave to Moses have to do with comparison and envy.  We are cautioned not to covet a neighbor’s spouse or possessions. If we already have a spouse or possessions, what would make us want someone else’s?  The only possible answer is that we’ve compared the two and theirs looks better. The ancient Israelites struggled with it and so do we…especially with the advent of social media. Author Srinivas Rao says, “ There’s always someone who has more…more fans, followers, traffic, likes, etc.  Social media-fueled comparison is a game in which there is no endpoint. It causes us to lose sight of the fact that we are getting a deliberately,  highly- filtered, one-dimensional view of someone’s life.”  A study published by security and research firm Kapersky Labs  surveyed  over 16,000 people and concluded that sites like Facebook, X and Instagram can often leave people feeling upset or “bitter” rather than happy and content.  Contentment is elusive - especially for those who spend a lot of time on social media. Google reports that in a study involving 1500 Facebook users, more than 60 percent felt inadequate or jealous after comparing themselves to others on Facebook. Social media can be a great way to maintain long distance relationships, share important milestones and events with people who want to know and to bring attention to causes or organizations that we want to support. But like anything else, it can easily be misused and wind up hurting us or the people who view our posts. The U.K.’s  “Nursing Times” reported that a mental health patient in an in-patient recovery group confessed, “I’ve just been admitted to this ward, and I feel awful.  But I go online, and my friends are getting married, one’s had a baby, a couple are on holiday…They all look great, and they are all certainly having a better time than me.” It’s pretty clear that social media is here to stay, so if it’s a problem for us, we either have to avoid it or develop a new perspective.  Developing a new perspective doesn’t come easily because comparison is so deeply rooted in created beings.  It goes all the way back to the first sin which was committed by a supernatural being.  In Isaiah 14 we are given the back story on Satan. He was known as the Morning Star, Son of the Dawn, the most beautiful creature in all of God’s creation, designed to lead others in the worship of God.  But rather than recognizing the worthiness of God for such worship, he envied God’s higher position and desired it for himself, saying, “I will make myself like the Most High.”  When God created humans, Satan took a similar approach to lead them into sin.  He convinced Eve that the reason that God had instructed them not to eat from the tree in the center of the garden was because He knew if they did, they would be like Him, knowing good from evil. That was the reason, but it wasn’t because He wanted to hold onto His superiority over them, because He was God and nothing could change that.  But Satan appealed to Eve’s desire to have everything God had. If we really think about it, we’d recognize that the root of all sin, pride, is at the heart of our need to compare ourselves to others and ideally come out on top. Just like Eve, we bristle at the thought of someone having something we don’t have.  A NerdWallet survey revealed that 3 in 5 Americans, 57%, have felt envious of someone else’s financial situation. We can’t help but notice people who are able to dress better, drive nicer vehicles and live in better homes. When I lived in a neighborhood and took the dog for a walk, I found myself noticing my neighbors’ beautiful landscaping and perfectly maintained homes.  It started me thinking of my own yard that was in desperate need of edging and trimming, the shrubs that were overgrown and the pollen and mildew stains on the windowsills. Their homes looked much better than mine and what had previously brought me great joy and gratitude became a problem and a source of discontent. When we first moved into the house, I recall having the thought, “I can’t believe that this is our home!  As a child, I never would have imagined that I could own something like this.”  But when I started comparing what I had with what others had, the awe and thankfulness I had experienced then was replaced by a desire for something better. Our tendencies to compare aren’t limited to material possessions either. As women, we notice the appearance of other women. Subconsciously we note if they have better figures, fewer wrinkles, nicer hairstyles.  When we look in a mirror we think of those women and see only our flaws staring back at us. Sometimes it’s the gifts and talents of others that make us feel less than. We can’t sing or speak or make friends as well as the people around us, so there must be something lacking in us.  We even compare our families, possibly having thoughts like, “ Look how her husband puts his arm around her and opens the car door for her! Sometimes I wonder if mine even realizes I’m here. And her children are so well behaved, and they excel at everything they do. My kids are constantly embarrassing me with their behavior and if there’s something they’re exceptional in, we haven’t found it yet.”  If we’re honest, we’d all have to admit to having at least some thoughts like these. Comparing ourselves to others nearly always leads to dissatisfaction and if, by chance, we come out ahead in our comparison, it leads to equally harmful pride.  It’s a losing proposition either way, but we keep falling into it…at least I do. Jesus was quick to shut down any comparisons between His disciples. After He asked Peter three times if he loved Him and instructed him to “feed my sheep,” he gave Peter a vision of his future which included being bound and taken places he didn’t want to go.  That future didn’t sound very appealing to him and perhaps because misery loves company he wanted to know what would happen to John.  In John 21:22 Jesus basically told Peter, “you do you,” saying “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”  It was an important reminder that in order to follow Jesus, Peter needed to keep his eyes fixed on Jesus, not the people around him. The Apostle Paul also had quite a bit to say about comparing. In Galatians 6:4 he writes, “ Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won’t need to compare himself with someone else. 5 Each of us must bear some faults and burdens of his own. For none of us is perfect!” Apparently the church at Corinth had been doing a lot of comparing in the area of spiritual gifts which prompted Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 to devote an entire chapter to explaining how no one gift was more important than another.  He compared spiritual gifts to the parts of a human body, noting that all perform different, but very necessary functions. He points out, “ if the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts of the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.” “Just as He wanted them to be…” that’s a phrase that should stick in our minds when we are tempted to compare ourselves with others.  Even as God gave us the spiritual gifts He desired us to have, has He not also given us our bodies, our minds, our families and everything we have, just as He desired? There is no doubt that God created us as unique and carefully planned individuals…just as He wanted us to be.  In Psalm 139 He reminds us that He knew us even before we were born and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. “How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God,” the psalmist says, adding, “How vast is the sum of them!”  His thoughts about us are precious and beyond imagination. He created each of us to be exactly who we are, like no one else. So comparing ourselves to others is not only pointless, but it reveals our lack of understanding that God, in His infinite wisdom, created us to be exactly who we are. And what He thinks of us, and remember, those thoughts are precious, matters far more than what we or anyone else thinks. If we truly intend to follow Jesus as He has commanded us to, we need to take our eyes off of the people around us that may seem to have something we lack, and fix them on the One Who has everything we need.  Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.  

Please join us as today's guest, founder of Guard Your Heart Ministries, shares her transparent story of how she dealt with wounds from childhood which led her to accept toxic relationships.    Tewannah Aman's personal Redemption Story provides an example of developing healthy, Christ-centered relationships for a future of freedom and love. 

In today’s episode, Tawana Lowery shares about a God dream she had and what it taught her about how we should Vote for our Spirit instead of our Flesh. This is one vote that impacts our influence for eternity. 

It’s easy to get discouraged by all the darkness we see closing in on us. There are so many things wrong in this world, but the darker the night, the brighter the light. Today, host Julie Harwick gives many examples of believers shining brightly in the midst of darkness and reminds us that we have been called to do the same.   **** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s been going on for 80 years, but this was my first experience attending. It was fascinating, exhausting, sometimes disheartening, but also inspiring and encouraging – kind of a microcosm of life on this planet. I was there to represent Barnabas Aid, a ministry to the Suffering Church. Very, very few people approached our little booth to learn more about the Persecuted Church. Most who did approach, were eager to promote their own ministries which wasn’t a bad thing, because they were also willing to hear about mine. But in order to effectively represent Barnabas Aid, I had to  try to make eye contact with someone passing slowly enough to ask, “How familiar are you with the Persecuted Church?”  Some pretended not to hear me or mumbled, “I’m good.” But fortunately many were willing to listen and consider getting involved. There were people from all over the world there and it was interesting to note that nearly every foreigner I encountered was well-acquainted with the Persecuted Church. Americans were far more likely to know little to nothing, but that’s probably because suffering for your faith is not a normal part of being a believer in this country. I was most encouraged by meeting people from Morocco, India and Pakistan who had actually worked with our organization in those countries. Hearing their stories made the work of Barnabas Aid more real to me and allowed me to put faces with the people we serve. The disheartening part came from some of the booths I encountered where televangelists were selling supplements guaranteed to give you energy and good health and others just seemed to be all about glitz and glamour. There may be nothing wrong with these ministries. It was just hard not to notice the contrast between them and less flashy ministries whose sole focus was bringing the gospel to people who hadn’t heard or fighting for the lives of unborn babies. Overall, it was very encouraging to see the massive convention center filled with people who are devoting their lives to God-honoring businesses or ministries. Every form of media was represented: radio, television, film, podcasts, video games, books and social media. All appeared to be committed to using every method possible to grow the Kingdom of God. I was especially encouraged to see that the booths next to me and across from me were both engaged with reaching Muslims for Christ and supporting Muslim Background Believers who live under restrictive and even dangerous conditions. Islam is the world’s second largest religion and it’s estimated that there are nearly 2 billion Muslims worldwide. One organization, Cresent Project, has a vision to equip 100,000 believers, many of them from a Muslim background to reach 120 counties where Muslims have never heard the gospel. At Lighthouse Arab World, I talked with Johnny, a Lebanese man who was born into a Christian family but has a great love for Muslims all over the Arab world. He told me about the crushing inflation that his native country is suffering and how his ministry is helping to alleviate that suffering while pointing people to Jesus. He also told me a fascinating first-hand account he had heard about a Christian missionary who attempted to evangelize a remote tribe in Tunisia. These devoted Muslims were mostly hostile toward him and wanted nothing to do with the gospel he was so eager to share. One night the chief of the tribe had a dream in which Jesus appeared to him and told him to seek out the missionary who would tell him all he needed to know. When he awoke the next morning he still felt compelled to seek out the missionary, but his conviction grew when all the other members of his tribe reported having had the exact same dream! This experience couldn’t be explained away and couldn’t possibly be a coincidence, so the entire tribe gathered outside the missionary’s home as Jesus had instructed them to in their dreams. When the missionary looked out his window and saw the entire tribe assembled there, he was certain their animosity had grown to the point where they had determined to kill him. He summoned his courage and went outside to face whatever awaited him. His fear turned to incredible joy as they begged him to tell them about Jesus. I frequently hear stories like this about Muslims who have never heard the gospel having dreams where they see Christ and are told where they can go to learn about Him. It reminds me of the passage in John, chapter one where we are told that Jesus, also known as the Word, was the life and the life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. He is the true light, that gives light to everyone. Light and darkness became a common theme while I was at the convention. So many people from countries around the world told me about the darkness and suffering that seems to reign in their home countries. But I was surrounded by so many, including many Americans, who were devoting their lives to bringing the light of Christ into that darkness. There was an awards dinner on the last night where many Christian broadcasters were honored for their work, some having served for 50 years or more. They had started radio stations or television shows in the early 1970’s that had reached people who might’ve never heard the gospel otherwise. They had faithfully sacrificed and served with vision and determination to use all kinds of media for God’s glory and to bring light into the darkness. It was inspiring to hear their stories and hard not to feel like I’ve accomplished very little in comparison to these spiritual giants.  The final speaker, Jack Graham, opened with words that tied it all together for me. “Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle.” It’s not a bible verse and he wasn’t sure who had originally coined the phrase, but he remembered his mother saying it and believed that it was loaded with Godly wisdom. We all see so much darkness around us. Crime is growing at a rate we have never seen before, our country hasn’t been this divided since the Civil War, we have a fentanyl crisis, human trafficking, corruption, pandemics, poverty, broken homes and mental illness is rampant. Every news broadcast and article you read confirms that this world is in serious trouble because it’s under the dominion of the Price of Darkness himself. But as we read in John 1, the darkness could not overcome the light. It’s interesting to note that when you try to darken a room because you want to sleep, even the faintest light coming through a crack under the door or through a window from the moon is enough to make the room seem not very dark at all. Once your eyes adjust to the light, you can see most everything. It’s another example of how much more powerful light is than darkness. Just as the Light of the World is far more powerful than the Prince of Darkness. In John 8:12, Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The Apostle Paul experienced this in an unbelievable way when he was struck with blindness on his way to persecute the followers of Christ. He was kept in total darkness until the man appointed by God to pray for him restored his sight. And it wasn’t just his ocular vision that was restored, the light that had blinded him had also opened his eyes to the truth that he had been unable to see previously. He finally understood that he had also been spiritually blind. And the Light of the World, that is, Jesus, was also the way, the truth and the life. In Acts 26:18 Paul recalled the commission that God gave to him. “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.” Even though most of us have never had a “road to Damascus” experience like Paul, we have been given that same calling. In 1 Peter 2 :9 we’re told how God views us and exactly what He has created us to do. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” It is a wonderful, and as some translations call it, a marvelous light. If the Light of the World resides in us, the darkness cannot overcome us and instead we can shine the light into the darkest places. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He explained how He wanted us to live as bearers of the light that only He can give. The Message paraphrase puts it best and it’s a perfect way to close. Matthew 5: 14 & 15 says, “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine!” Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast! Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose. Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry. From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders . All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.

Today's powerful interview is with Sarah Frazer, author,  teacher, and mother of five.   Sarah lacked confidence in her marriage, future, and having children. Hear her gripping story of how a trip to China to adopt a child allowed God to intervene. You will be encouraged to hear how God provided courage for Sarah in all the areas she suffered, leading her to be the woman of God she is today.

The Spirit of fear can come upon us in an instant or at times through decades of past trauma.    Today's guest, Author Wendy Arelis from British Columbia, shares her story and provides helpful advice of how God saw her need and led her to overcome the layers of built up fears that once gripped her life.

Honesty is a character quality we look for in others, but do we actually scrutinize ourselves for honesty in the same way?  How honest are we with ourselves, when it comes to being honest? Join Julie Harwick as she dives into this subject. **** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. A mom questions her 3-year-old who’s mouth is ringed with blue dye.  “You’re telling me you didn’t have any candy today?”  “I haven’t,” he answers sweetly shaking his head.  “You can have one more time to tell me the truth,” she warns. “Really, I haven’t,” he responds as if he can’t imagine why she would ask such a thing. “Then what is all over your face," she asks. With a growing realization he says, as he attempts to look truly puzzled, “Oh, blue?”…”Well…. I forgot that I ate that.”  It’s hard not to chuckle at this type of lying because it’s just further evidence that 3-year-olds are not as smart as they think they are. And they’re still in the process of learning that telling lies is not the way to get out of a sticky situation. But 3-year-olds grow up and unfortunately, lying often continues to be a part of their lives.  We were all 3 once and our parents probably took lying very seriously and tried to teach us that it was wrong, but that doesn’t mean we never do it. While we might not be guilty of telling such a blatant lie as the 3-year-old, we may very well be guilty of misrepresenting, misleading, saying what someone wants to hear whether we actually believe it or not or exaggerating. If you’re not guilty of any of those yourself, you probably know someone who is.  It’s not “technically” a lie, but it’s likely to cause the hearer to arrive at a slightly different conclusion than what is the actual truth.  And generally, the motive for doing it is to manipulate a desired outcome. Sometimes, what is not said falls into this category. Many years ago, I had a co-worker who seemed to believe that she was in competition with me and needed to make our employer question my value. She was definitely within earshot when a supervisor asked me to leave the office to get some paperwork he needed. Later, when the owner asked her where I was, she answered, “She didn’t tell me where she was going.” That was a true statement. I hadn’t specifically told her where I was going, but there was no question that she knew.  The way she answered made him believe that I had left without letting anyone know and that she didn’t know where I went. The information she gave him accomplished her intent of making me look irresponsible because he had a wrong impression of the situation. Have you ever confronted an older child about some item around the house being broken and gotten a vague response like, ”I haven’t used it”?  In the back of your mind you’re wondering if they’re saying under their breath, “today.” The response might be technically true, but they certainly have more information that is relevant to the question, but it’s not in their best interest to share that. As kids get older, they get a little craftier at getting out of things they don’t want to do without actually telling a lie.  “I would do my chores now, but I have a test to study for.” They may very well have a test to study for, but they have no intention of spending all their remaining waking hours studying for it.  I once knew a boy who didn’t like to take a shower.  He would turn on the shower, retrieve a book he had stashed in the bathroom cabinet and read for 15 minutes.  Then he’d wet the washcloth and wipe it across the top of his head so his hair was wet and use it to dampen a towel. If he was specifically questioned about taking a shower, he would say that he had, because days earlier, he actually had.  There are all kinds of get-arounds that can enable us to have our own way without drawing attention to what we’re carefully hiding. Unfortunately, our problems with absolute honesty don’t go away as we age. We just get better at hiding it from others…and even ourselves. Sometimes carelessness is involved but it doesn’t really excuse our behavior.  How often have you ended a conversation with someone who’s just shared a burden or concern with you and you threw out an, “I’ll be praying for you.” But do you really mean that, or will you get distracted by a  million other concerns and never once remember to pray as you said you would?  We say it with good intentions – praying for someone is good, but if there’s no follow through, why say it at all?  Do we say it because it’s uncomfortable not to, because it just seems like the right thing to say?  Maybe we should take more care to never promise to pray for someone unless we are certain that we actually will. Saying things out of habit or just because we don’t know what else to say can lead to dishonesty too.  Have you ever greeted the pastor on a Sunday morning after church with an “I really enjoyed your message,” when in fact, you can’t even recall what it was about?  If you actually did enjoy or appreciate it, by all means, be sure to say so, but giving compliments by rote is meaningless and doesn’t create the desired outcome.  This is a particular pet peeve of mine. I’ve known someone in leadership at church who is always brimming with superlatives, “That was the best worship ever! That was the best Christmas Eve production ever! You did such a great job with”…you get the picture. I know his intention is to be encouraging, but the lack of authenticity is actually demotivating to me. I can’t really take any praise from him as legitimate because he tosses it around so casually. Another technique I’ve noticed and may have used a time or two myself is exaggeration. “I wish I could come to your baby shower, but unfortunately my son has lacrosse that day (nevermind that it will end hours before the shower) and I’m going out of town for a week and have so much to do to get ready for it. The more difficulties or concerns you can pile on the list, the better, or so it seems. The truth is that if you wanted to go, lacrosse and the trip wouldn’t stop you.  But since you don’t want to go, making them seem like a much bigger obstacle than they actually are is a convenient workaround. While it would be unkind to simply respond with an, “I don’t want to because baby showers are boring.” I  could be more honest, but not unkind, by saying, “I won’t be there, but I hope you have a really wonderful time!” Most people will accept that without requiring details, if you are pressed for a reason, you might say, “I have some other things that require my attention.” I understand that we’re getting into some difficult territory here and I certainly have been guilty of exaggerating some facts to provide a way of escape from something I don’t want to do.  So how do we walk the line between brutal, hurtful truths and respectful and kind honesty? Probably the first question we should ask ourselves is “what would Jesus do?” One of the first things that comes to mind when I think of Jesus and the truth is that He is truth.  “I am the way, the truth and the life,” He says in John 14:6. Earlier in John 8:32 He also emphasized the fact that He is truth when He said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Jesus and truth are inseparable, so if we want to know and serve Him, truth needs to be high on our list of priorities. Jesus made it pretty clear that He had real problems with deception.  We see it particularly in the way He viewed the Pharisees.  He referred to them as whitewashed sepulchers full of dead men’s bones, or in other words, they looked great on the outside, but their insides were detestable. He made a point of saying that we should be what we present to those around us with no attempt to deceive.  He called out those same Pharisees for taking oaths and swearing by heaven or their own heads to convince others of their sincerity, when it was, in fact, lacking.  In Matthew 5:37 He said, “Let your “no” be no and your “yes,” be yes. Anything beyond this is evil.” A modern paraphrase might be, “say what you mean and mean what you say.”  That’s a tall order in our culture.  We have become masters at “spinning” situations to appear as something other than what they are. A common text abbreviation is TBH – to be honest. I see it on social media all the time.  When I see it, it makes me question, ”does this mean that rather than your usual lies, you’ve opted to tell me the truth this time?” As humans, we have a long history of lying…to God, ourselves and each other.  It started with Satan, lying to Eve about God holding out on her.  When Satan asked Eve,  “did God really say not to eat from this tree?” she embellished the command and added her own, saying, “we can’t even touch it!”  When God confronted Adam about eating from the tree, he tried to make it sound like Eve just gave it to him without telling him where she got it. That’s probably why the bible has so much to say about honesty – because humans have a real problem with it. In Proverbs 6 God lists 7 things that are detestable to Him and 3 of the 7 are related to honesty. He hates a lying tongue, a heart that devises wicked schemes and a false witness who pours out lies.  In 2 Corinthians 4 the Apostle Paul says, “We do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” The Apostle Peter echoes the sentiment in 1 Peter 3:10 saying, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.” Truthfulness in God’s sight is a high bar and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always measure up. He knew we would struggle with this and addressed it in Ephesians 4.  He describes how He equips His people for service, so that the Body of Christ can be built up. He points out that it’s all a part of growing into maturity and that as we do mature, we won’t be controlled by false teaching and the craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming, but instead, we will speak the truth in love as we become the mature Body of Christ. Speaking the truth in love is an important caveat when we’re talking about honesty. Truth and love also need to go hand in hand. We won’t hide the truth from those we truly love, but we also won’t wield it as a sword with no thought of the damage it can do. When a child presents you with a flower he’s picked for you from a nearby weed, you could say, “that’s just a weed.” That is the truth, but it wouldn’t show much love. Instead, you could say, “that’s beautiful, thank you.” It may only be a weed, but if you look at it through his eyes, it is beautiful. Speak the truth in love.  It sounds so simple, but we know it’s not. James said in chapter 3 of his letter that anyone who was never at fault in what they said, was perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. While we know we’ll never be perfect this side of heaven, with some extra attention on truthfulness and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can become more like Jesus in everything we say. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.

God has a calling for you, and it is better than you can ask or imagine. Will you answer in joy, trusting His wisdom and provision? Join Julie Jenkins as we study together Jesus’ response to the rich, young man as told in Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30.   ****   Thank you for joining for the Women World Leaders podcast! My name is Julie Jenkins, and I have the honor of walking through the Bible with you today as we study scripture and ask God to tell us what He wants us to know! If you are new to Women World Leaders, we are so glad you have joined us! We are a group of women on mission to share the gospel as we empower each other to walk in our God-given purpose. If you are a Christ-follower, you are called to be a leader for Christ! God has gifted YOU with amazing talents and gifts, and we want to help you discover and use those gifts. So if you enjoy writing, music, art, teaching, encouraging others, or organizing databases, we have a place for you to grow, serve, and thrive. And if you aren’t sure HOW you want to serve, that’s okay – we are excited to meet you where you are! Each month, we host a Leadership Connect Zoom call that is open to the public. On the third Monday of each month at 7 pm et, we have a great time getting to know each other, finding out what is happening in the ministry, and learning different ways to serve others and grow in our leadership skills from a guest speaker. We would LOVE you to join us! To get the Zoom link, simply visit womenworldleaders.com and fill out our connect form so we can email you all the details! If you have any questions about the ministry, feel free to email us at [email protected], and if you have a prayer request, email us at [email protected].   The scripture we are going to dive into today is the story of Jesus talking to the rich young man. Three of the gospel writers give us their take on what happened that day, so we will be studying Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30. Before we begin, let’s pray… Dear Most Holy God…we are honored to come to you today and we ask you to guide us as we open your Word. Father, thank you for providing us with your written instructions and for sending your Holy Spirit to help us understand all you want us to know – may we never take you or your written Word for granted. Bless the listener as you speak directly to her heart, and bless my thoughts and words as I humbly present what it is you would have us know today. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.   Let’s begin in Mark, chapter 10, verse 17 from the New Living Translation… As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”   Let’s examine what we know about the man who came and knelt before Jesus. Mark tells us simply that he was a man who called Jesus a teacher. Luke tells us that he was a religious leader, which makes sense as he was obviously eager to do EVERYTHING right, which was the hallmark of the religious leaders of the day – they operated on the idea that they must follow every jot and tittle of God’s Word to get into heaven. I can relate to this man, can’t you? He wanted to know what HE should do to secure his future. I have a difficult time with control…I always think that if I can just figure out the right combination of food to eat and exercises to do, I will have complete control over my weight and my health. And…by working REALLY hard and being wise with my money, I will be able to ensure a FABULOUS retirement for myself when the time comes. This man – who we find out later is rich – was used to controlling his own destiny…or at least trying to. He followed all the rules, he did everything right, but he came to Jesus wanting just ONE MORE piece of insurance of his eternity – essentially asking…is there anything I am missing? I imagine that anyone who was in listening distance would have been all ears. This man seemingly had it all together. If HE needed to do something else to ensure his ultimate destination, I’m betting everyone else wanted the SAME information. Jesus’ response turns the tables a bit…verse 18 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.  In essence, Jesus was saying…hmmm…think about what you are saying…you know that ONLY God is good. So unless you believe that I AM God, you are quite openly doing something against the religion you claim as you flatter me, calling ME “good” – an adjective that can only be attributed to God Himself. Jesus continues… 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’[a]” It’s interesting that Jesus first speaks of those commandments that are relational – those that have to do with people, not God. 20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” Isn’t that a telling statement? The man was going through life on a surface level with his eyes half open. If he had taken even a moment to think more deeply, he would surely have remembered at least ONE time when he went against those commandments. Surely he had bloopers in his life…we all do! Can you imagine how quickly you and I would go down if someone were to play a video across the sky of our life’s bloopers? The first clip of my life would show me stealing lipstick from my mom’s purse – that was the first time I remember willfully doing something wrong. I believe that my mom and God both forgave me for that many years ago…but if we are following the “rules” of doing right versus doing wrong, we must be honest and recognize that we all have sin in our past. No one is blameless. And yet, in our culture of canceling each other, we often judge the actions of others while we explain, at least in our own minds, our own actions away. Thankfully, our God is forgiving and loving…I LOVE this next verse… 21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.  Wow…Jesus LOVED this man who came to Him not knowing who He was and ONLY wanting to know the rules to secure eternal life. Jesus loved the man and met him where He was. Jesus did indeed guide him, on a very personal and specific level that was meant to teach the man and help him grow…Jesus said… “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” … “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Matthew records it this way Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Let’s break this down…Jesus said first…Go Jesus calls us to action. How wonderful would it be to sit on the mountaintop with Jesus all day long? But we are here on earth for a reason…we each have a job to do…and Jesus tells us to Go! Second…Jesus told the many to sell his possessions and give to the poor. The belief at the time was that God blessed those He was pleased with by giving them earthly riches. God DID make a way for that man to have riches, but there was a reason behind those riches! Jesus gifted the young leader by telling him HOW to use what he had been blessed with. How amazing! How often have we gone to God and asked…what should I do? And then when we hear His reply…be still, trust me, or even, do the hard thing…we think…no, I’m going to take control of things and do what I think is best. All we have to do is obey and follow God’s lead…AND like the man…from our actions, we will gain treasure in heaven. What?? The man should have JUMPED at the opportunity to use all he had been given! And then, Jesus offers the man the most amazing invitation of all…He says, after you have given all you own away…THEN…COME FOLLOW ME! The man, having sold his possessions and used them for amazing good, would then be unencumbered and able to follow Jesus! By all rights, the young leader should have walked away from his encounter with Jesus skipping joyfully. His question had been answered…Jesus had told EXACTLY what he needed to know to ensure eternity…he needed to follow Jesus. But instead…that man went away sad…focused on all he would have to give up rather than on all Jesus was offering him. I wonder what ever happened to him? Like the video of my lipstick-snatching days, all we see of this guy is his blunder as he sulked away. Reading this…we assume he was doomed…but remember…Jesus loved him. Surely his story was not over. Isn’t there a lesson in that? God doesn’t give up on us and God doesn’t judge us by our past actions. The key to eternal glory for the man was never his works…it wasn’t that he would sell all his possessions and give to the poor. The key for the man, and for us, is putting God above everything else. On this side of heaven, we will never be perfect, but to GET to heaven, we must FOLLOW Jesus with our hearts…always returning to Him…even when we mess up in our deeds. And when we follow Him, He will continually show and empower us to put God above everything else. Verse 23… 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard[b] to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” 26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. 27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” You and I don’t hold the key to heaven…and we can’t beat down the pearly gates with our good deeds. Without Jesus…it is IMPOSSIBLE to enter heaven. When we walk by his side, however, Jesus will walk us right into eternity… As if to underscore this point, Peter IMMEDIATELY showcases the sin of pride… Verse 28… 28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said. But Jesus doesn’t focus on Peter’s sin of pride…instead Jesus assures Peter of the blessings that come from walking by God’s side… 29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. 31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.[c]” Aren’t we so blessed to serve a God who loves us THAT much? Sometimes, in the flesh, what He asks us to do is difficult…but all that He asks us is for our own good. Is God telling you to serve Him in some way? Does it seem too hard? I guarantee that if you listen and obey, YOU will be the one receiving the blessing! Five years ago, we at Women World Leaders encouraged Christ-followers to write their stories. Any of our authors will tell you that when God called them to write their story, there were bumps and scary places along the way. But the growth they experienced through the process and the lives they impacted with their words are blessings they never would have imagined. We publish Voice of Truth, a beautiful magazine full of God’s Word, four times a year. We do it because God told us to. You’d better believe the process is difficult! But God always sees us through, and the reward is amazing! No matter what God is calling you to do…will  you let go of the reins of control and allow Him to work in your life as you respond obediently? Skip with joy into your future as you follow Jesus and all that He has for you! Let’s pray… Dear Most Holy God…we say YES! Jesus….we know you are more than a good teacher, you are truly the Son of God. And we vow to follow you! Thank you for the gifts and the gifting you have given each one of us…tune our ears to your Words and give us strength and joy to honor you in all we do for your glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray…Amen.

Please join us today as the founder of WWL's, Kimberly Hobbs is interviewed by Tawana Lowery, the founder of MISS OVERCOMER ministry about "Bold Forgiveness." 

We live in a culture that is very protective of personal rights.  But as believers, how can we find the balance between standing up for ourselves and following Jesus’ example of laying down His life? Join host Julie Harwick as she explores the topic Laying Down and Giving Up. *** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” If you are an American, these words should be familiar to you as the second paragraph of our nation’s Declaration of Independence. No previous government had ever enumerated such rights and the fact that the United States of America did, set the stage for a government of the people, by the people and for the people. I am thankful for the rights our Constitution guarantees, although many of them seem to be under attack lately.  However, I think it has created in Americans in particular, a heightened focus on protecting our rights that doesn’t always conform to scripture.  Our speech is peppered with phrases like, “I know my rights,  what gives you the right?  I have every right to…” People devote their lives to fighting for animal rights, women’s rights, gay rights…the list goes on.  Our culture places a very high value on defending our rights. From a purely secular perspective, that seems like a good thing. But recently, God has been challenging my perspective about my rights and the lengths to which I’ll go to defend them. ------------------------------------------------- I had the privilege of teaching about the Persecuted Church at last month’s Leadership Connect and as I was researching, I watched a video produced on behalf of the underground church in Iran that really convicted me. A missionary who was part of the underground church in Iran was describing how he and the members of his church often discuss what they will do if or when the radical Islamists discover them and break into their hidden place of worship.  A young woman who had been part of a radical Muslim faction herself, pointed out what she had already given up for her faith. “I have given up my rights.  I have given up my position. I have given up everything for Jesus,” she said. These persecuted Christians are prepared to carry out the command of Romans 12:1 which says, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” In spite of beatings, prison, assault and murder, these people are willing to lay down their rights, rather than deny their Savior. ------------------------------------------------------ The Church in America has had it so good for so long, that it’s hard for us to identify with believers like this woman. We don’t like to think, much less talk, about suffering and being willing to lay down our rights.  For many of us the concept of suffering equates to putting up with a miserable job situation, marital difficulties or experiencing financial problems.  These are the very type of problems that many spiritual leaders have focused on as issues we can overcome, if only we learn the spiritual principles that lead to success and happiness.  After all, we’re the King’s kids and He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, so why wouldn’t He want us to prosper, enjoy good health and the best of everything this world has to offer? That type of prosperity doctrine  has encouraged adherents  to focus on all the wrong things…in a nutshell,  their own selfish, fleshly desires – a far cry from being a living sacrifice. I heard a teaching on Romans 12:1 years ago that caused me to consider for the first time that the problem with being a living sacrifice is that you have the option of crawling off the altar at any time.  Throughout the Old Testament, the animal sacrifices required by God were always slaughtered before they were placed on the altar.  But there is one instance of a living sacrifice in the Old Testament.   In the story of Abraham sacrificing his only son, Issac, we usually focus on the aspect of God testing Abraham’s faith. That’s the point, after all,  even in the book of Hebrews, Abraham is listed as an example of faith we’re meant to emulate because he was willing to obey God even if it cost him the most precious thing God had ever given him. But have you ever thought about this story from Issac’s perspective? He was probably excited to get to go with his father on such an important mission at 13-years-old. But scripture tells us that he noticed the lack of an animal to sacrifice and even asked his father about it. Abraham simply explained that God Himself would provide the sacrifice and evidently that was good enough for Issac. The boy carried the wood for the sacrifice himself while Abraham handled the torch and a knife.  At what point did Issac begin to grasp that he was to be the sacrifice? Genesis 22 tells us that Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Then he bound his son Issac and laid him on top of the wood.  I’m guessing this is when Issac came face to face with what would seem to be a terrifying realization.  But there is no mention of Issac struggling to break free or questioning Abraham.  At 13, he may not have had the strength to resist a grown man, but it’s hard to imagine a 13-year-old boy being unable to outrun a 100-year-old man.  From the biblical account though, it appears that Issac was fully compliant. How?  How could anyone just lay there on an altar looking up at the knife that was about to end his life?  There can be only one answer.  He trusted his father. If you’re not familiar with this story, you’ll be relieved to know that God stopped Abraham before the knife came down and told him he had passed the test of obedience.  Out of nowhere a ram was suddenly caught in a nearby thicket and God instructed Abraham to release Issac and sacrifice the ram He had provided. In this instance, God only required Abraham and Issac’s willingness to provide a living sacrifice, but there are times when He doesn’t provide any alternatives.  The New Testament is full of stories of the sacrifices made by the original followers of Jesus.  Many were stoned, sawed in two and killed by the sword according to Hebrews 11. Ironically, the man responsible for many of those deaths would be called to lay down his life and write the words of Romans 12:1 encouraging others to do the same.  Originally known as Saul, this man had a life that would have seemed enviable by any standard of his day.  As a Roman citizen and a respected Pharisee, he had wealth, status and a very bright future. He was known throughout the region for leading the most devout Jews to put an end to the heretical followers of Jesus. Scripture tells us that he held the cloaks of those who eagerly sought to please him by carrying out his orders to stone the Christ followers.  No need for him to dirty his hands or exert himself – such activity was beneath him. But a very personal encounter with Jesus Himself on the road to Damascus set his life on an entirely different course. With a new God-given name and a new heart wholly dedicated to the One he had so vigorously persecuted, the Apostle Paul did more to advance the church of Jesus Christ than anyone else, but at great personal cost.  In Philippians 3 he reminds his readers of his impressive pedigree as a Hebrew of Hebrews – one who faultlessly kept the law. In verse seven he says, “Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of knowing Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul details some of the ways he was willing to offer himself as a living sacrifice, saying, “Five times I received from the Jews 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea.  I have been constantly on the move.  I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea and in danger from false believers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”  This is quite a contrast with the life he had known as Saul and explains perfectly how he could say in Philippians 2 that his life was being poured out like a drink offering. While the Apostle Paul is an incredible example of laying down rights and offering everything as a living sacrifice, there could be no greater example than Jesus Himself. It’s laid out for us in my favorite passage in all of scripture, Philippians Chapter 2, written by none other than the Apostle Paul.  It’ says, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” Think of that!  He was God and yet He didn’t think equality with God was something to cling to. He willingly set aside His divine rights and privileges in exchange for the infinitely inferior mind and body of a human being. And it would’ve been more understandable if He had chosen to inhabit the body of a strong young man of wealth and power, but instead He came to this world as a helpless infant, born to the poorest of parents.   I love this passage so much because it really encapsulates what He sacrificed for us.  Not just in coming to earth and limiting Himself to a human form, but in taking upon Himself the sins of the world when He deserved no punishment at all! When I consider what Jesus was willing to do for my sake and the examples set by Paul, other apostles and even modern- day members of the Body of Christ, I am so convicted of my unwillingness to freely lay down my rights.  When I feel that they’re being violated, even in the smallest of ways, my defenses go up and I’m ready for a fight. There may be instances when that’s an appropriate response, but I think in many cases, God is bringing me to an Abraham and Issac moment.  But rather than climbing up on that altar, I’m running from it as far and as fast as possible. ----------------------------------------------------- I suspect I’m not the only one who may struggle with laying down my rights. No doubt it’s one of the reasons Jesus warned that the gate He wants us to pass through is narrow and very few find it. But we do not struggle alone.  2 Corinthians 12 tells us that God’s power is perfected in our weakness.  His grace is sufficient in any area of weakness. Undoubtedly that truth is what the young Iranian woman clings to when she imagines what the consequences of following Jesus may be. Like Issac, she knows her Father can be trusted, no matter what. --------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.  

Would you consider yourself uncommon? God created you - you are unique and wonderfully made.   Today, Kimberly Hobbs interviews young and vibrant Coach Caitlyn Benedik who shares her story of how God created her to be different.  She stepped out of the "box" into a fun career and shares her 4 uncommon reasons to live by as Christ has led her.   **** Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives with Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. It is our privilege to come to you today and ask you to join us as we welcome our guest today, which is Caitlyn Benedik. Welcome, Caitlin. Glad to have you. Caitlyn Benedik   I'm so excited to be here. Thanks for having me on. Kimberly Hobbs   Yes, and today we are talking to you ladies about uncommon and that's a word that is very special to Caitlyn. And as we talk a little bit about her story, you're gonna see why and hopefully that word will speak to you today. And it's our our hopes that in you listening today, ladies that this podcast will strengthen you and encourage you to walk in that beautiful purpose that God has just for you. We believe that all of us are created uniquely by our Creator, our Lord, our God. And every believer has received grace gifts, so use them to serve one another as the faithful stewards of the many colored tapestries of God's grace. That's First Peter 4:10. So as we go into our podcast today, I always love to share a little bit about our guests. So today I want to share a little bit about Caitlyn and who she is and where she came from, before we get into her story, so Caitlyn is a graduate of Pensacola Christian cap College where she was part of the Lady Eagles basketball team during her tenure there. And during her time at Pensacola, she discovered her passion for coaching men's basketball, which led her to Maryland. And that's where she's now an assistant coach for the Salisbury men's basketball program. She's also pursuing her master's degree in Health and Human Performance. And when she is in coaching, she loves to read, spend time outside and serve in her church. So today, as we go into this interview about being uncommon, it's something that really resonates with Caitlyn. And I usually ask some of the women who I have the privilege of interviewing what's a word that would describe you in your life and in what you want to share with the world. And in Caitlyn chose the word uncommon. And I said, Okay, that's really interesting. We've never talked about that before. So she's going to explain more on this as we get into today's podcast. But I wanted to start off with a scripture about being unique. And I just always, if any of you are following us, women, world leaders on these podcasts, scripture, scripture, scripture, it's so important because there's power in the Word of God. And I chose Psalm 139 14, which says, I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works, my soul knows it very well. And I love that because each of us are unique. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. That's what the Bible says about us. Caitlin, god, did you with a distinct purpose and a beautiful heart to walk out that purpose? So let's start here by sharing your story because you were sharing with me. As we were discussing, prior to this podcast, some of the struggles you had growing up and wanting to be an athlete. So can you talk about your growing up years? Caitlyn Benedik   Yep. So when I was a young kid, I was a gymnast. And that sport is very demanding, you have to be in the gym 24 hours a week, you know, and it's a year round sport. So there's never really any time off. And it's it was a perfectionist environment. So you're judged on how perfect you can do a skill or a routine and growing up also, my family was and they had their own struggles and my parents got divorced and they're both remarried and through that, like the environments weren't very, very loving for a while and I just never felt like I was valued or, or I was good enough. And to add that home situation to my gymnastics mentality and perfectionism. I struggled a lot with my worth and knowing who I was and who's I was and My value and I desire to be a college athlete. I you know, I did gymnastics for 12 years, and my Oh, was, I'm gonna do this in college, I'm gonna get a scholarship doing this. And then about my freshman year in high school, I started getting this feeling like, I'm not really sure if I want to do this anymore. And I didn't really vocalize that for a while it was about a year that I felt that way. And then I started getting scared to do skills I've been doing for a long time. And for all that I've seen gymnastics on TV or participate in the sport, you can't have fear in that sport. Because you're flipping around a bar or you're tumbling over a four inch beam, you have to be fearless. If you're if you have any type of scared feeling in you, then it's very dangerous. And so about my sophomore year in high school, early fall, so late July, early August, I decided for good, it was time for me to be done. And that was very challenging for me, because my whole life, I'd been a gymnast, all my friends knew it. Everybody that known me growing up knew it. That's kind of what they labeled me as was you are a gymnast, and you're really good at it. And so when I told people I was done, and I was gonna walk away from the sport, they, they couldn't believe it, and they couldn't comprehend it. But I knew that's what God was, was calling for me to do. It was time for me to let it go a time for me to move forward and, and experience something new. So I had these friends that lived down the street from me, we used to shoot hoops on the outside goal or walk over to to the park and play some games. And they convinced me to try out for the basketball team. They said have you try out and make it we'll come to every game. Well, they never showed up to one game, but I did make the team ever since then I fall in love with the sport. And so I had this crazy idea. Well, I'm not gonna be a college in this I might as well be a college basketball player. And so I just let somebody in my corner know that that was my goal and my dream and he necessarily didn't believe was going to happen, but he was willing to help me get there. And at least open the gym, provide the opportunity open the weight room, helped train me and helped me actually have not accomplished but work towards that goal and the Lord blessing with two opportunities to college programs and I ended up choosing to go to Pensacola Christian College. Kimberly Hobbs   Yay. Which brings us into our our next little bit about learning about you. Because this is just this young woman of God has truly captured my heart and talking to her outside of this podcast. And so just getting to know her I want you all to know her too, as as I was getting to know her and she went to college at a Christian College, which was Pensacola Christian College. So Caitlin, can you talk to us a little bit about that it was a strict college, you were saying? And you were not used to strict nor were you used to being surrounded by people of faith, such as that. So can you talk about what that meant being around strong believers? Caitlyn Benedik   Yeah, so PCC is a they call it independent fundamental Baptists. That's the conference that they're a part of. And so they're very conservative, extremely conservative, like I had to wear a skirt to class every day. And that was tough for me, because I'm a tomboy. So I never, you know, wear skirts or dress up and be super girly. And though my parents had had standards and rules that we were required to follow. This environment was extremely different from what I was used to growing up in. Like I grew up with three brothers and a sister. So I was used to being in the crowd of all men and at PCC there is very strict rules on when and where and how you can hang out with guys. So I was surrounded by a bunch of girls and I didn't really know how to, to navigate that as that wasn't really something that I had always been a part of. But through my time there it was the first time I'd been, you know, I grew up in church and I that was a big part of my life. And I always made sure that I was a youth on Wednesdays and church on Sundays and being mentored by some of the older women in my church. If I ever needed anything. I went to counseling there and stuff like that, but I never been surrounded by all Christian environment academically. So to go to a university where like, I have to take Bible class we have chapel attend every day. We have church on Sunday, Sunday school on Sunday evening church on Wednesday and Sunday night so like I'm constantly surrounded by the word. And not only that, I'm a part of a basketball program where all my teammates are Christian. All my teammates study that word. All my teammates profess to live my life on track change. Seeing God and so that was pretty cool because even though I felt very uncomfortable in that environment, the Lord used it to teach me discipline teach me how to respect authority that I didn't necessarily agree with, teach me how to the importance of having a good female community around me, like now that I moved to Maryland, My Dang, I really need some strong Christian women in my life, whether they're my age, whether they're a little bit older than me, because it's important to be able to have those you can relate to that are going through the same circumstances as you to be able to draw wisdom from there and be able to be turned back to the Lord. So that is, that is why I ended up going there. I didn't know the Lord's purpose. At first I just said, Okay, I'm, I'm gonna go there. That's where I feel weird because I went on to campus visits. I said, I feel peace and PGC. I don't know why. But that's how I know God is telling me that's where he needs me to be. So I just followed the peace and follow where he was leading me. And I can see now why he might. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Amen. And, boy, you know, some of the Navy, the moms listening in, that are at that have children that age, you know, trying to guide them into what colleges to look at. That was really, that was really inspiring to you, and a lot of fundamentals taught at that college for your faith life. So Christian colleges are very, very important. And we're just glad that that was a memorable time in your life. Caitlin, so you were on your way to focusing on playing basketball, but you had another struggle in your life. And this is where God had showed up in your life huge, because you had to have knee surgery. And unfortunately, for a whole year, you were kind of taken out. But while you were dealing with that, God called you to the inner city. And so if you can take this moment and describe to us that time, and how it actually, God had a plan and a purpose already set out and how that led you into what you are doing now as your profession, which is unbelievable. It's uncommon. Caitlyn Benedik   Yeah, so I had a feeling when I went to college that I was going to want to stay around athletics, and I thought I was going to be in a strength and conditioning standpoint, but then I fell in love with basketball. And so by my sophomore year in college, I had seen this AAU team play. And it was a traveling basketball team. And it was based out of Pensacola. And I'm like, Well, I'm going to school in Pensacola. So let me reach out and see if I can sit in some practices or, or learn from some people. And so I got connected with the community center in Pensacola, which is an inner city, and I volunteered my time for a year. And then by the time I had knee surgery, they offered me a job. So I was full time staff there. And because of my knee surgery, I was able to devote a lot of my time to the community center because I wasn't traveling for games. And then there are days like I wouldn't be able to practice so I could go to work instead. And so I really focus my time on that. And the inner city guy just cold call me there. Because like that's my heart is to help love people where they're broken. Because that's what God has done for me. Like no matter how broken I've always felt the Lord has always been right there to love me, right in my brokenness. And so that's kind of why I love the inner cities, I have ability to shine light in a dark place. And to the point of now I get to be transformational in lives of young men and women. And so I wanted to coach and because I grew up with three brothers, I was always around. I have one biological brother, and he's almost exactly your report. So I was grew up being in class with him. And I always watched him play football, he was a wrestler, he played baseball ran track. So I was always heavily involved in all of his sports. And because of that, you know, I was a part of the boys club. And that's kind of how I grew my passion for men's athletics, and then even more so working in the inner city. Those are very hard young men to reach. And a lot of people say there's not a good young man in the world anymore. Well, okay, if that's the problem, how can we present a solution and I want to be a solution. And he kind of gave me that heart for those that are tough to reach and even more so an ability to reach them. It's one thing like a passion but for God's we equip you with the tools you need. It was it's just been cool to see how it unfolded. And right in front of my eyes. Kimberly Hobbs   Absolutely honey, and here is where you're at uncommon part of why I've started I, it just seems like, you know what, what happened through that year of transition and your knee surgery and God giving you this heart and passion to do something out of the box that isn't the ordinary of what a young woman would be doing. And so he led you to your career right now, which is so beautiful. And the scripture says right here, but now Oh, Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, and you are our Potter. We are all the work of your hands. That's Isaiah 64, eight. And that's exactly what he was doing. He was molding you. And he was making you the way he had purposed and planned for your life. And it was something along the desires of your heart already, which is so beautiful, Caitlin, so you belong, you started becoming molded in an uncommon way as a woman at a young age. So can you talk about the boundaries, because now all of a sudden, you're working in a man's world? You are coaching men's basketball at a college? So how did God set you up in that place? Each day, you had four uncommon points, you said that you want to share with the listeners today that were special to you. So can you talk about those uncommon points. Caitlyn Benedik   So for me, the reason why I chose the word uncommon is, you know, the scripture of like, we're supposed to be salt for the world, we're supposed to be set apart from the world and different. And so for me, like that, is summed up in the word uncommon. And, like, that means to me, I want to be uncommon in four areas in my life, and especially in my job in coaching. And the first one is leading people to accountability and coaching all the time, we have to tell kids, hey, you're not doing this right, need to get better at this. How are we working to grow here, and it's hard for them a lot of times to accept it, like they're always in a defensive standpoint. But if I build a relationship, and get them to paint for me a picture what they want it to look like, now I can lead them to accountability lead them to what they said they want it to be. And so it goes from a conflict driven state to now like an ownership driven state. And they're able to accept Oh, coach is telling me this because I said I wanted to be, let's say, an All American, but I'm not working hard enough to get there. And now she's just leading me to that to what I said I want it to be. So that's one way for me to be uncommon. The other one is loving others Well, for me, like loving my guys know that when I say I love you, it's not this romantic, crazy, awkward thing. It's like when I say I love you, they know I'm committed to your well being. So I love you, and I'll see you be successful, no matter what that looks like. And when I say love you, they know that, like I'm committed to their well being. And being able to walk that out through my actions, allows my words to hold a lot of weight in their life. And then I want to serve them like a waiter. We see a restaurant and and we have a waiter, but they don't expect anything in return. They're just here to get us the drink, get us our food, take our order, whatever else we might need for that meal to go well, and for us to have a great experience there. And so that's what I want my life to be like, That's what Jesus was he got down, he washed our feet, you never expect anything in return. And so I just want to serve like a waiter without expecting anything in return. And the last thing is gonna be an elite question asker in coaching, especially in sports, like our guys have to be able to make decisions, and then even raising kids like we want our children to be able to make decisions when they leave our care. But if we're always giving them the right answers, how are they going to ever be able to make their own decision? So I want to ask the questions, I want them the questions I asked to foster a learning environment, and an autonomy of learning. So now they can figure it out. I'm just sparking, thought I'm just sparking the wheels turning so they can come to the conclusion that they need to be successful. And when they do that, it gives them ownership of their learning. Instead of giving them the right directions, I'm asking them the right questions. So that's what I'm common means to me, it's leading them to accountability, serving like a waiter, loving them, well, then asking them only questions. Kimberly Hobbs   Wow, that is so beautiful, Coach Caitlin, that God has called you to be so unique in an environment that he set up just for you to serve in and it goes along with your personality. Its goes along with how God created you growing up all the experiences that you had experience. And again, all of us are uncommon in different ways, right? We're each created unique like the scripture I opened up, you know, we are fearfully and wonderfully made each and our own purpose. So the women that are listening in are thinking oh my goodness, you know, my daughter needs to listen to this and as we go into our are closing in this is where I kind of wanted to rest a little bit and you to take some time is that listener right now that is just kind of gleaning from what you've learned at a young age and how you've processed this. You value scripture, Caitlin and I asked you what is some of the scripture that God gave to you your favorite scriptures, and one you shared with me was proverbs three, five, and six, which a lot of us love and have claimed, which is trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. And then there was another scripture that is special to you. And that's in Jeremiah, where Jeremiah and the potter, there's a, there's a whole story there. So I just want you to take off and inspire these listeners about why this passage is an is so important and how it can help them in their life, too. Caitlyn Benedik   So one of the biggest struggles for me is just the value piece, like knowing my worth, and being confident in that I'm not looking for outside affirmation, finding it in the Lord. And so this summer, I really been kind of working on healing through that. And God gave me Jeremiah 18, which is, he has Jeremiah to go down to the potter's house, he said, I'll speak to you there. And so when Jeremiah got there, the Potter was working on a vessel. And when he was finished making it, the potter realized it was marred in his hand. So it wasn't made correctly. If he fired it, it probably would have broken so instead of throwing the clay away and getting new clay to make something different, he then crushed it down, remoulded it, reshaped it to where it was as good as him. And then God told Jeremiah like, this is what I can do for Israel, you know, and it really spoke to me because instead of tossing what he thought was broken, the what the potter thought was broken away, he then remoulded it, took it down, tore it down, built it back up, to make it something beautiful for him, and God does the same thing for us. He's really shown me through this scripture that our brokenness is not something to hide. The world wants us to put on this perfect mentality and like, we're fine. There's nothing wrong with us. Not to share our stories, because if we do and show where our imperfections lie, then we're not good enough. But that's not what this scripture is telling us. It's saying that even though we're broken, God will build us back up to where it is good in his eyes, you know, like were created beautifully and wonderfully in his eyes. And he also spoke to me and said, like, we're so busy comparing ourselves to others, that we're now going to be replicas of those people. Instead, why don't we allow the Lord to build us up to shape us to mold us and now we're going to be unique and marvelous, and a masterpiece for the Lord? Why would you want to be a replica when we can be a masterpiece, and we all need to be masterpieces. Because if I'm trying to be a rebel, I'm never going to be 100% When God needs me to be. And so this scripture is really been speaking to me and even more so to the fact that like, there's this ancient Japanese art, and they take broken pottery, and they piece it back together with gold, and it becomes more valuable, broken than it ever was whole. And that's kind of how we are, the more broken we are, the more the Lord can work in our lives, the more we can experience His grace and His strength. And it says in Scripture, where we are weak, then he is strong. So we have to find strength in our weakness, because even though we might be broken, even though we might feel down in the pit, like we have hope in the Lord, because he said that he's going to lift us up and bring us out of it. And even though we can't see the good right now, like eventually, we're going to understand that we needed to weather that storm. So now we can reach other people through that we have a newfound endurance in God. Kimberly Hobbs   Wow. Wow, I told you ladies like she is just what God has taught her at such a young age. And it's just valuable information and, and we are just so thankful, you know, that you would just come and share from your heart. And it just gives so many hope, you know, just hope of what God can do with a life When you surrender to Him. And you, coach Caitlin are uncommon for Jesus, and it's a beautiful thing. So the Bible tells us that as each of us have received a gift to us to serve one another, as stewards of God's varied grace. And again, that's first Peter 410 and a different version as I opened up with but ladies God has created you each unique and Different in Romans 12 Two says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. And as we learned, just hearing Katelyn share her story, she was tested. And she had to discern about what is the will of God for my life, she had it planned out, she had it mapped out of what she wanted to do. But God gently guided her to where he wanted and what he prepared, which was so unique to who she is and who he created her to be. It's the beauty of God, ladies, when we surrender our hearts and open it up to him and his will for our life. He's never gonna steer you wrong. And Caitlin, if I asked you right now, can I offer you $200,000 to come and dig dirt in my backyard? Because I really need somebody, would you leave what you're doing? No, I don't think so. Because God called you to this, because he knew that he created you with this amazing purpose to pour into these men that are at this college, you know, and that are learning from you. So we are grateful for what you do. And ladies, each of you can do anything that God is calling you to anything, you just need to trust Him and step out of the box and do those uncommon things. With his strength, not yours, just like Caitlin had to rely on God every step through this. And he was giving her all the signs and strengthening her to prepare her for what she's doing. And Philippians 413 says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, which is amazing, because all is all and that's all like we we can do anything and everything. That's powerful. So it was God who set you apart, Caitlin, before you were born to do this uncommon thing. And ladies, another scripture you can read on your own is Galatians 115. And again, nothing is impossible with God. So one more 32nd. Caitlin, what is that shot in the arm that you want to leave for the women listening in that will just empower her today to just walk out there and be uncommon for Jesus? What can you tell her? Caitlyn Benedik   My life motto is don't discount your value. So just like you buy a shirt, depending on what logo has on it depends its value, or your logo is the Lord and you your value is immense. He loves you so much. And never discount your value because you're the one who gets to set it and everybody else has to follow. So whatever you set it as that is what it is. So find it in the Lord and trust that He will be with you every step of the way. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. And you didn't even know I was gonna ask you that question. And that's just huge, just huge. So thank you. Thank you so much Dream Big ladies, because you are extraordinary. And we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. So in closing, I just want to say thank you coach, Caitlin, for being with us today and just you are a breath of air as a young woman out of college coaching men's basketball at another college like yay, go coach Caitlin, and go team Salisbury, Salisbury, what are they called? What are their What's your seagulls, the seagulls, Salisbury seagulls? So go team and ladies, we are just glad you have made your way to women, world leaders to listen to these podcasts. And as we close out today, we want to invite you to be part of this amazing, amazing global ministry for women of all ages. And we believe with all our hearts, there is a place for you here if you want to serve Jesus. Come serve Him with us. There is so many opportunities for you to be part of this ministry. Just as when Caitlin and I were introduced. We didn't know what God had planned for us to meet. But this whole podcast unfolded as we got to know each other and her willing yes to God to say, I'll serve you however you want. Let us to be on this podcast together. So ladies, the same for you. Whatever God is stirring in your heart to serve Him. We have opportunity to do that. Here. You can write your story. We have voice of truth magazine, which is a quarter The publication it's beautiful. There's so many gifts and talents inside of that magazine that are used for Jesus Christ, you can be a part of that we have books that go out into the world with, oh my goodness, such amazing God stories. Maybe God gave you an incredible story that needs to be shared to give others hope, and inspiration, whatever it may be, ladies, we have a place for you. Please reach out to us. You can reach out to me personally at Kimberly at women world leaders.com Send me an email about how I can get in touch with you to see what you can possibly be a part of here in this ministry. And like I said, so many things. So please pray about it. Please join us please just be part of this amazing, amazing mission for God. Thank you, Caitlin Benedick for being our guest today. Thank you ladies for being here and empowering lives with purpose and from his heart to yours. We are women world leaders. Remember every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we bring to you these podcasts for your learning and inspiration and in growth in Jesus. All content is copyrighted by women world leaders and cannot be used without expressed written consent. God bless you all and have a beautiful day.

In today's podcast, host Tawana Lowery shares biblical insight about how to overcome being offended for the sake of the cross. She tells a personal story about how God delivered her from being offended so she could help others experience the love and saving grace of Jesus and shares why the ability to overcome being offended is crucial in preparing for the days ahead.    ***** Hello… and Welcome to Women World Leaders Podcast    I’m your Host… Tawana Lowery ·       Women’s Empowerment Coach ·       And Executive Director of Miss Overcomer Global   And I’m VERY excited you joined today…   ·       As we explore what the Father wants us to know about himself and who we are as Powerful Ambassadors…   ·       So let’s get started…   1.     This is the time of year when many of us set goals or resolve to make improvements in our lives.   2.       Today I want to share a few thoughts about a resolution you may not have considered… and that is … How to Overcome being offended.   3.     As we see tensions and conflict mounting on a High-Definition Global scale… each of us will be presented with an increased opportunity to be offended.   4.     In fact, Jesus instructed in Matthew 24:10 that opportunities to be offended would be on the rise in the last days.   a.     That because of the increase of wickedness… many people’s hearts would grow cold.   b.     But…. as his ambassadors… we are called to rise above it and live with a pure heart.       Let me share a story from my own experience… 1.     Several years ago, I walked continually offended by the Pornography industry… 2.     And… yes… what this industry produces is evil…   ·        Nevertheless… my response to it was NOT the love of God.   3.     Finally, I just asked God why I allowed anything Porn related to produce such a visceral response.   4.     He told me the issue was my own unbelief.   ·        I somehow believed the pornography industry was more powerful than the all-sufficient Love of God to save and deliver.   ·        Also, I had a teenage son at the time… and I was fearful of the effects it could have on him if he encountered it.   ·        Again…. I was putting all my faith in the power of sin rather than the power of God to save.   5.     And so… my first step was to pray about the unbelief and ask God’s forgiveness about the offense.     6.     Several weeks later…. I was praying about how to become more available to my community with prayer and counseling.   Share your personal story.   Conclusion 7.     We need to see the Provocations as an Invitation…   ·        For Transformation and Restoration…. 8.     Had I not prayed about my offense towards those enslaved by pornography… I would have missed a great miracle.   Lessons Learned… ·        When I’m offended, I am walking in disobedience because I am walking after the flesh. ·        When I’m focused on the offense, I am allowing the enemy to distract my focus Away from the cross. ·        When I turn my back on those who offend me, I am turning my back on the opportunity for transformation and restoration (for the other person and myself). ·        1 Corinthians 13 – LOVE is not easily Offended… ·        We are Chosen to be offended for the sake of the Cross! ·        We have the privilege of allowing the offense to drive us to the Cross so the resurrection power of Jesus might be made manifest.   During this new year, let’s be intentional to go on Offense about being Offended rather than being defensive distant. Let’s purpose in our hearts to see the Provocations as an Invitation for Restoration, Transformation and  Resurrection!     CLOSING REMARKS….   Well… It’s been a pleasure spending time with you today.   Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!   ·        Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.   ·        Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.   ·        From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders.   All content is copyrighted by Tawana Lowery and Women World Leaders and cannot be used without express written consent.

Join host Julie Harwick on today's episode of the Women World Leaders' Podcast. As humans, we have a tendency to view our identity through the lens of what we do.  But God is far more concerned with who we are.  Could it be that we’ve been focusing on what is entirely the wrong thing? **** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God’s grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. The beginning of another year always forces us to do some serious thinking.  We think about the year that has passed: what went wrong and what went well.  We evaluate our own performance so we can decide what we want to stick with and what might need to change.  For many, this comes in the form of New Years’ resolutions. A 2022 poll by Yougov revealed that 37% of Americans had a goal or resolution they intended to pursue in 2023.  While everyone begins with the best of intentions, few follow through.  A Forbes Health survey showed that the average resolution lasts just over three months.  65% of the respondents had abandoned their goals after four months and only 1% stuck with it through the entire year. Those statistics aren’t surprising and some sources even refer to January 17th as “Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day” and others have named the second Friday in January  “Quitters Day.” What these statistics really show is that many of us want to change…want to be better in some way, but we just can’t seem to do it.  We talk a lot about willpower, determination and setting ourselves up for success and yet, we fail, again and again. I’ve never been a resolution-making person, but I do want very much to change and not stay the way I am. Of course I want to lose weight and be healthier and handle my money better, but what I really want is to be more like Jesus.  And if I could do that, I think everything else would probably fall into place. I know that’s what God wants for me as well.  In Romans I read that He wants me to be “conformed to His image,” and the Apostle Paul instructed us to be imitators of him as he was of Christ.  So if I want this and God wants this, why doesn’t it just happen?  God has been revealing some answers as I’ve been thinking about this lately, and particularly through some books I’ve been reading.  I’ve come to believe the problem has been that my focus is all wrong. Have you ever noticed how much we focus on what we do in determining our identity?  For instance, what do you talk about when you meet someone for the first time at a party, church or work? We give our names and somewhere in the first few exchanges, someone asks, “What do you do for a living?” When we sit down at the dinner table, whether it’s with the family, friends or a significant other, the conversation often begins with, “so what did you do today?”  How many teachers have welcomed their class back after a weekend or a holiday or especially summer break with an invitation to share with the class, what they did over the time away from school?  And don’t we feel maybe a little bit judged in answering these questions? As a stay-at-home mom for many years, I knew my work was very important, but a part of me would always wonder if the person I was talking with would see it that way. And many of us might feel the need to describe what we do for a living in a way that makes it seem better than it really is. I wasn’t particularly eager to describe my summer break when the only activity I could remember was helping to clean out the basement.  It seems our actions rarely live up to expectations and yet, we’re fixated on them. We’ve carried this kind of thinking into our spiritual lives as well.  If we venture into a spiritual conversation with a co-worker, we are likely to begin with, “where do you go to church?”  When we meet new people at church, we’re apt to tell them where or how we serve in the local body and may even invite them to attend our small group or bible study.  All things we do.  It doesn’t necessarily tell them anything about who we are, but we are eager for them to know what we do. In his book, “Emotionally Healthy Discipleship,” author Peter Scazzero points out that God created us to be “human beings,” not “human doings.”  “Being” is not something we give much thought to, but we do think often of “doing.”  Doing is easily understood and quantifiable.  It’s easy for me to recall and describe all the things I’ve done.  But if you ask me to describe who I’ve been and who I am now…how do I answer that? In the last 30 or 40 years it’s almost become cliché for celebrities to travel to some remote location to “find themselves.” What does that even mean?  It’s clear to me that we prefer to focus on doing rather than being because it keeps us safely in a world we understand, can easily articulate and doesn’t ask too much of us. But will doing help us become more like Jesus?  It could.  Certainly Jesus did things.  He traveled around, preaching and healing. He participated in worship at the synagogue, he visited friends, he ate and drank and attended a wedding. But how did He describe Himself?  He never made reference to being a carpenter or a teacher.  But He did say things like, “I am the way, the truth and the life,” and “I and the Father are One.”  In the gospel of John, Jesus made six other “I am” statements. “I am the bread of life.” “I am the light of the world.” “I am the door.” “I am the good shepherd.” “I am the true vine,” and “I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus continually showed that He knew exactly Who He was and His terminology points back to the Old Testament statement given to Moses at the burning bush when God said, “I am Who I am.  Tell them the ‘I am’ sent you.” In all of these “I am” statements, Jesus was making it clear that He was God. And throughout the Old Testament God often describes Himself that way too, saying things like, “I am the Lord and there is no other.” The book of Revelation describes a future when all of heaven will offer praise to Him Who was and is and is to come.” All of these scriptures point to a God Who is worthy of our worship because of Who He is, not what He has done.  Another book I recently read and recommend is “Audience of One,” by R.T. Kendall. I was convicted by what I read, that most of my worship of God is concentrated on what He has done for me, rather than Who He is. Being grateful and acknowledging His blessings is important and necessary, but if He never again lifted a finger on my behalf, He would still deserve my worship simply because He is God. That’s not the way I’ve typically approached worship, because again, it’s easier and more comfortable to just recount all that God has done for me.  Taking the time and intellectual effort to really contemplate Who He is doesn’t come quite as naturally to me, but it’s an effort I know I need to make. God keeps showing me that being vs. doing may go against my human nature, but it’s His preferred method for change and growth. If you ever feel the same kind of resistance to it that I do, consider Jesus’ conversation with Martha in Luke 10: 38-42.  Three siblings, Martha, Mary and Lazarus had a special relationship with Jesus.   John 11:12 tells us specifically that “Jesus loved Martha and her sister, Mary and Lazarus.” On one occasion,  Martha had invited Jesus into their home to enjoy a meal and teach all who were gathered there. Throughout the gospels, we see many people following Jesus everywhere He went so they could listen to His teaching.  We don’t know how many were present at Martha’s house, but even if it was just Jesus and His 12 disciples, that would be about 16 people. It wouldn’t be surprising if Martha and her siblings invited other family members or friends to hear the teacher that everyone was talking about. Imagine the biggest party you’ve ever hosted and you might have an idea of what Martha was dealing with. Personally, I love hosting a party, but it can also be very stressful. Though I’m hardly a perfectionist, when I’m hosting a gathering, I want my house to be spotless, with everything in its place.  I want the food to be ready on time, looking and tasting delicious.  No matter how early I begin preparations, it always comes down to the wire.  I’m frantically rushing around trying to complete a million details no one else may ever care about or even notice, but they seem critical to me.  That’s how I imagine it was for Martha. She couldn’t help but be thrilled to have someone like Jesus as her guest of honor and I’m sure she wanted everything to be absolutely perfect. Scripture says Martha was distracted with all her preparations and she was getting rather perturbed that her sister, Mary, oblivious to her concerns, offered no help at all.  I can so relate.  There’s nothing worse than rushing around in panic mode before a major event and seeing your loved ones who could be helping you doing something totally unnecessary or possibly nothing at all. From Martha’s perspective, that’s exactly what Mary was doing.  When she reached her limit of tolerance for this situation, she didn’t call Mary over and tell her she needed help, instead, she decided to go straight to the top.  She walked right up to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” It almost seems like she might have been a little bit mad at Him too. She calls Him Lord, but there’s an awful lot of attitude to go with it. But Jesus doesn’t seem put off by her accusatory tone.  I’m not sure if He’s chuckling at her ruffled feathers or if there’s a sad compassion in His response, but He says her name twice, maybe to make sure she really hears Him.  “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her.” It was a gentle rebuke, but obviously, it was not what Martha expected. We’re never told how she reacted in the moment, but I suspect His words replayed in her mind over and over. While it may have appeared that Martha was doing all the important work while Mary did nothing, Jesus saw the situation from a totally different perspective.  Martha was consumed with doing.  She was doing it for Jesus, as faithfully as she knew how, but it wasn’t really needed and it was causing her to miss what He really wanted for her. Mary wasn’t doing nothing.  She was doing the only thing that mattered – sitting at Jesus’ feet, just being with Him, listening to His teaching and simply enjoying His presence. Martha was doing.  Mary was being. This had to be a major paradigm shift for Martha.  The way she took charge of the preparations and challenged Mary’s inactivity indicates that her identity was probably all wrapped up in successfully completing tasks.  She was focused on serving others, which was a great quality, but it also brought her bitterness and irritability and kept her from something so much better. No doubt Martha meditated on what Jesus had said to her because when we meet her again in John 11, she expresses a new maturity in her faith despite a devastating loss. She had sent word to Jesus that her brother, Lazarus, was deathly ill, but He had delayed in coming and her brother had died. When she hears that Jesus has finally arrived, she runs to meet Him while Mary continues weeping in the house.  “Lord, if You had been here my brother would not have died,” she begins, sounding a little like the former, accusatory Martha. But she immediately adds, “ but even now I know God will do anything You ask.” Jesus answers, “Everyone who has faith in Me will live, even if they die. And everyone who lives because of faith in Me will never really die.  Do you believe this?” Her answer to His question demonstrates that she’s no longer focused on just doing things for Jesus, she’s come to a new revelation of exactly Who He is. “Yes Lord!  I believe You are the Christ, the Son of God. You are the One we hoped would come into the world.”  Martha’s efforts to shift her focus from doing to being gave her a completely different perspective, grew her faith and led to the most incredible miracle she could’ve ever imagined.  Jesus raised her brother from the dead! What miracles might we experience?  What growth and freedom and joy could we find if we could also shift our focus from doing to being? If Jesus says sitting at His feet and just being in His presence is the best thing we can do, then that’s what I want for 2024. It’s a new year and I want a new beginning with my heart set on worshipping Him for Who He is and by His grace, finding my identity in who He created me to be. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God’s extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.

The "grip of addiction" is a claw of the devil.   Today's guest, singer and songwriter Brenda James, shares some of her personal story about battling addiction. Hear about the protection God provided to bring her out of the clenches of an ongoing battle, into the freedom of His amazing grace, now to a ministry in music and a mission to Pakistan. Below is link to Brenda leading an astounding worship at her church. A MUST HEAR! This POWERFUL song brings tears of freedom.   "Thank You Jesus For The Blood."  https://www.facebook.com/1459072252/posts/10219175797533315/?d=n

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